NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
UK’s largest wave energy array set for 2029 deployment
Luca Corradi
Luca works to bring “the outside in”, connecting innovators and academics across sectors and disciplines, to explore the latest technologies that could be adopted to address oil and gas industry challenges. Leading The Net Zero Technology Centre’s horizon scanning activity, he identifies emerging technology trends, cutting through the hype to identify potential areas of impact and application. With a background in business and organisational change leadership, Luca has developed a strong network and is passionate about harnessing this to deliver the next generation of the net zero energy industry.
Outside work Luca loves reading, music and travel. He is married with two young daughters and a dog. He enjoys the rare motorbike ride in Scotland and even rarer ski trip on the Alps.
More to net zero news: Global Methane Tracker; UK Grid Update; CorPower Wave Project
Chief Technology Officer at NZTC, Luca Corradi, and his team closely monitor the global net zero landscape. They follow the trends, policies, investments, and technological innovations that, together, bring the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and his team look at a new report estimating emissions across the energy sector, the National Wealth Fund’s new funding announcement and the largest wave energy array being deployed in 2029.
The Global Methane Tracker 2025 report by the IEA provides estimates of emissions across the energy sector and discuss abatement options
Energy-related methane emissions have not yet reached a definitive peak and remain above 120Mt annually. Methane emissions are widely underreported. Using data available, the IEA estimates total energy-related methane emissions are about 80% higher than the total reported to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
The fossil fuel sector is responsible for nearly one-third of methane emissions from human activities and is likely to offer the greatest potential for immediate reductions. Methane pledges cover around 80% of global oil and gas production, but implementation remains weak. Several large emitters have yet to commit to methane cuts and about half of industry has yet to set near-zero methane targets.
Around 70% of emissions in the oil and gas sector could be avoided using existing technologies often at low cost. Methane abatement in oil and gas can deliver very high rates of return and many abatement options can pay for themselves within a year. Around 30% of the industry’s emissions today could be avoided with measures offering rates of return of over 25%.
In 2024, the IEA estimates abandoned coal mines emitted nearly 5 Mt of methane, and abandoned oil and gas wells just over 3 Mt. Emissions were most significant from recently abandoned wells that were not appropriately decommissioned or have vents.
Energy-related methane emissions reported to the UNFCCC and IEA estimates
Source: IEA Global Methane Tracker report
The National Wealth Fund has announced £600m in funding as part of a £1.35bn package for ScottishPower to upgrade the grid
ScottishPower have secured a £1.35bn financing package to upgrade key parts of the UK electricity grid. The funding includes £600m from the National Wealth Fund and will support the delivery of seven of ScottishPower’s priority transmission grid upgrade projects. This includes Eastern Green Link (EGL) projects 1 and 4 which will increase the UK’s capacity to transport clean energy via interconnectors from Scotland to the North-East of England and Norfolk. NESO has identified EGL 1 as crucial for clean power by 2030.
NESO estimates that up to £60 billion of investment is required by 2030 to upgrade the UK electricity grid to the level required to achieve clean power by 2030. Renewable projects are already constrained by the UK’s transmission infrastructure, particularly in Scotland, where renewables continue to expand.
The recent blackout in Spain and Portugal highlights the importance of having a resilient grid. Amongst other technologies, long duration energy storage (LDES) is needed to support grid reliability and stability by balancing supply and demand. Despite the government introducing a cap and floor scheme to support LDES last October, Drax has announced it is putting on hold the expansion of its Cruachan pumped hydro facility citing high project costs. The project was significant for Scotland with a planned capacity increase of 600MW.
CorPower will deploy the UK’s largest wave energy array at EMEC in 2029
Swedish wave energy developer CorPower has signed a berth agreement to build a 5MW wave energy project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland. The project is scheduled for deployment in 2029 at EMEC’s grid connected Billia Croo site off Orkney, and will consist of 14 wave energy converters with an operational lifespan of up to 15 years. This marks CorPower Ocean’s second project at EMEC, following testing of its C3 WEC at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site in 2018.
CorPower is a leader in innovation for wave power technology. Their WECs feature a 9-metre diameter spherical composite hull – one of the strongest shapes in nature – which drives the movement of the power take-off as it responds to passing waves. CorPower Ocean’s WaveSpring technology amplifies the motion and power captured in regular sea states. The WECs have a proven storm protection system that locks down the device during extreme conditions and enables safe offshore access for maintenance. CorPower is looking at further innovations to advance its technology, including the use of AI to optimise performance and control strategies.
Image source: CorPower
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