Marine Energy in the United States: An Overview of Opportunities

Kilcher, Levi; Fogarty, Michelle; Lawson, Michael

doi:10.2172/1766861

Cited by 29 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The development of ME as a key sector contributing to the nation's sustainable climate goals hinges on its ability to provide significant renewable power with limited environmental impacts at a reasonable levelized cost of energy. The total technical ME resource within U.S. exclusive economic zone waters can provide up to 57% of the energy that was generated by all 50 states in 2019 [3]. Still, significant challenges remain surrounding the deployment and cycled testing of these novel structures and devices in marine and coastal habitats.…”

Section: Marine Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimizing Ecological Impacts of Marine Energy Lighting

Reilly¹,

Larson²,

Amerson

et al. 2022

JMSE

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Marine energy is poised to become an important renewable energy contributor for the U.S., but widespread deployment of the technology hinges on its benefits outweighing the potential ecological impacts. One stressor marine energy installations introduce is light, which is known to cause varying responses among wildlife and has not yet been addressed as an environmental concern. This review discusses requirements and regulations for similar structures and how lighting design choices can be made to meet these requirements while minimizing environmental consequences. More practical guidance on implementing lighting for marine energy is needed, as well as updated guidelines to reflect technological and research advances. Known responses of wildlife to light are introduced in addition to how the responses of individuals may lead to ecosystem-level changes. The impact of light associated with marine energy installations can be reduced by following basic guidance provided herein, such as removing excess lighting, using lights with high directionality, and employing controls to reduce light levels. Continued research on animal responses to light, such as findings on minimum light levels for animal responses, alongside the development of highly-sensitivity spectral characterization capabilities can further inform lighting guidelines for deploying future open ocean marine energy devices.

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Section: Marine Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimizing Ecological Impacts of Marine Energy Lighting

Reilly¹,

Larson²,

Amerson

et al. 2022

JMSE

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“…The East Coast area has a less intense wave resource that may suit smallerscale and distributed applications [32]. Alaska's wave resource is 890 TWh per year, which is almost 62% of the total available wave energy resource of the U.S [33]. Various projects recently succeeded and currently expanding the absorption of wave energy by U.S. companies [34].…”

Section: Case Studies Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean Wave Energy Converters Optimization: A Comprehensive Review on Research Directions

Golbaz¹,

Asadi²,

Amini³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Ocean wave energy is one of the latest renewable energy resources, projected to be commercialized and competitive with other energy technologies in the near future. However, wave energy technologies are not fully developed, so various criteria must be optimized to enter the energy market. To optimize the performance of wave energy converters (WECs) components, three challenges are mostly considered: i)Power take-off systems settings (PTO), ii)Geometry parameters of WECs, iii)WECs' layout. As each of them plays a significant role in harnessing the maximum power output, this paper reviews applied optimization techniques in WECs. Furthermore, due to the importance of fidelity and computational cost in numerical methods, we discuss methods to analyze a WEC together with the basics and developments of WECs interactions. Moreover, the most popular optimization methods applied to optimize WEC parameters are categorized, and their key characteristics are briefly discussed. As a result, in terms of convergence rate, a combination of bio-inspired algorithms and local search can outperform the competition in layout optimization. A review of PTO coefficients and the geometry of WECs have emphasized the indispensability of optimizing PTO coefficients and

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“…Expanding the nation's portfolio of renewable power generation capabilities is critical for meeting sustainable future U.S. energy demands and reaching goals for reduced carbon emissions. Marine energy (ME) derived from harnessing free-flowing tidal currents has been identified as a highly viable renewable energy resource [1] and presents an engineering opportunity for creative device design in open water and tidal environments. Deployment of these new technologies has generated regulatory concerns stemming from uncertainties about their environmental impacts as these novel structures are introduced into marine habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underwater Noise Measurements around a Tidal Turbine in a Busy Port Setting

Haxel

Zang

Martinez

et al. 2022

JMSE

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Acoustic emissions from current energy converters remain an environmental concern for regulators because of their potential effects on marine life and uncertainties about their effects stemming from a lack of sufficient observational data. Several recent opportunities to characterize tidal turbine sound emissions have begun to fill knowledge gaps and provide a context for future device deployments. In July 2021, a commercial-off-the-shelf hydrophone was deployed in a free-drifting configuration to measure underwater acoustic emissions and characterize a 25 kW-rated tidal turbine at the University of New Hampshire’s Living Bridge Project in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Sampling methods and analysis were performed in alignment with the recently published IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification for acoustic characterization of marine energy converters. Results from this study indicate acoustic emissions from the turbine were below ambient sound levels and therefore did not have a significant impact on the underwater noise levels of the project site. As a component of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Triton Field Trials (TFiT) described in this Special Issue, this effort provides a valuable use case for the IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification framework and further recommendations for cost-effective technologies and methods for measuring underwater noise at future current energy converter project sites.

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Marine Energy in the United States: An Overview of Opportunities

Abstract: Department of Energy (DOE) reports produced after 1991 and a growing number of pre-1991 documents are available free via www.OSTI.gov.

Cited by 29 publications

References 26 publications

Minimizing Ecological Impacts of Marine Energy Lighting

Minimizing Ecological Impacts of Marine Energy Lighting

Ocean Wave Energy Converters Optimization: A Comprehensive Review on Research Directions

Underwater Noise Measurements around a Tidal Turbine in a Busy Port Setting

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