“New” or “old” technologies to decarbonize UK's electricity system?

Low-carbon technologies need to be commercially available soon to play a relevant part in the energy transition. The UK has excellent potential for wind and wave power. The costs of wind energy are cost- competitive but there are issues with intermittency and public acceptance of onshore wind. Marine energy could provide a more stable electricity source but has significant uncertainty about future costs and deployment risks. What role do ocean and wind energy play in a cost effective, technically feasible long-term low carbon energy system? We study the necessary technological learning of tidal energy with UKTM (a long running energy system model) and analyse the impacts of adding tidal to the electricity system with highRES (a high spatial and temporal resolution electricity system model). We find that while tidal energy reduces the need for investment into flexible generation, it does so less than the spatial diversification of already existing renewable energy sources. Translating the results into policy advice it may be time to pick existing technologies (in this case wind energy) as winners.