The economics of electricity generation from Gulf Stream currents

Li, Binghui; Queiroz, Anderson Rodrigo de; DeCarolis, Joseph F.; Bane, John M.; He, Ruoying; Keeler, Andrew G.; Neary, Vincent S.

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2017.06.048

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…They contribute to cross-shelf exchange with their adjacent coastal seas (Brink, 2016) and hence influence local blue economies (e.g. Li et al, 2017;Zeng et al, 2018). Given the proximity in location to populated coastlines and the dominant role in coastal ocean processes, characterizing and predicting WBCs and their related eddy fields is a subject of intensive observing and modelling efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing system simulation experiments reveal that subsurface temperature observations improve estimates of circulation and heat content in a dynamic western boundary current

et al. 2022

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Abstract. Western boundary currents (WBCs) form the narrow, fast-flowing poleward return flows of the great subtropical ocean gyres and are sources of rapidly varying mesoscale eddies. Accurate simulation of the vertical structure, separation latitude, and ocean heat content of WBCs is important for understanding the poleward transport of heat in the global ocean. However, state estimation and forecasting in WBC regions, such as the East Australian Current (EAC), the WBC of the South Pacific subtropical gyre, is challenging due to their dynamic nature and lack of observations at depth. Here we use observing system simulation experiments to show that subsurface temperature observations in a high eddy kinetic energy region yield large improvement in representation of key EAC circulation features, both downstream and ∼ 600 km upstream of the observing location. These subsurface temperature observations (in concert with sea surface temperature and height measurements) are also critical for correctly representing ocean heat content along the length of the EAC. Furthermore, we find that a more poleward separation latitude leads to an EAC and eddy field that is represented with far reduced error, compared to when the EAC separates closer to the Equator. Our results demonstrate the importance of subsurface observations for accurate state estimation of the EAC and ocean heat content that can lead to marine heatwaves. These results provide useful suggestions for observing system design under different oceanographic regimes, for example, adaptive sampling to target high energy states with more observations and low energy states with fewer observations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing system simulation experiments reveal that subsurface temperature observations improve estimates of circulation and heat content in a dynamic western boundary current

et al. 2022

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“…Their findings implied that the technology was not suitable for Colombia at the time of conducting the research. Li et al [17] analyzed the economics of employing ocean turbines in the Gulf Stream off the North Carolina coast. Then, a portfolio optimization model was introduced in order to determine the most suitable sites in which turbines could reach the best technical outcomes.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With regard to electrification of remote and isolated areas using renewable sources of energy, some works have been carried out in different parts of the world, such as Malaysia [25], Cambodia [26], Sub-Saharan African countries [27], west China [17], India [28][29][30], Pakistan [31], Mexico [32], Venezuela [33], the Amazon region [34], Algeria [35], Myanmar [36], Ethiopia [37], Benin [38], and the Philippines [39]. For Iran, Mostafaeipour et al [40] examined the techno-economic feasibility of harnessing wind energy for electrifying a tribal region, called Gachsaran, in the south-west of Iran.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Grid-Independent Hybrid Power Plant for Co-Supplying a Remote Micro-Community with Electricity and Hydrogen

et al. 2021

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This study investigates the techno-economic feasibility of an off-grid integrated solar/wind/hydrokinetic plant to co-generate electricity and hydrogen for a remote micro-community. In addition to the techno-economic viability assessment of the proposed system via HOMER (hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources), a sensitivity analysis is conducted to ascertain the impact of ±10% fluctuations in wind speed, solar radiation, temperature, and water velocity on annual electric production, unmet electricity load, LCOE (levelized cost of electricity), and NPC (net present cost). For this, a far-off village with 15 households is selected as the case study. The results reveal that the NPC, LCOE, and LCOH (levelized cost of hydrogen) of the system are equal to $333,074, 0.1155 $/kWh, and 4.59 $/kg, respectively. Technical analysis indicates that the PV system with the rated capacity of 40 kW accounts for 43.7% of total electricity generation. This portion for the wind turbine and the hydrokinetic turbine with nominal capacities of 10 kW and 20 kW equates to 23.6% and 32.6%, respectively. Finally, the results of sensitivity assessment show that among the four variables only a +10% fluctuation in water velocity causes a 20% decline in NPC and LCOE.

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“…They can also heavily impact cross shelf exchange with coastal seas (Brink, 2016;Malan et al, 2020), the poleward transport of ocean warming-driving heat (Li et al, 2022a) and marine heatwaves (Elzahaby et al, 2021), which thus influence local Blue Economies (e.g. Li et al, 2017). Data assimilation (DA) simulations, which use observations to produce an optimised estimate of the ocean state, are the obvious choice for producing an accurate representation of eddy location and timing, and thus, predictability -all of which are important due to the myriad impacts of mesoscale eddies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does 4DVar data assimilation affect the vertical representation of mesoscale eddies? A case study with OSSEs using ROMS v3.9

Gwyther

Keating²,

Kerry³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Abstract. Accurate estimates and forecasts of ocean eddies in key regions such as Western Boundary Currents are important for weather and climate, biology, navigation and search and rescue. The dynamic nature of mesoscale eddies requires data assimilation to produce accurate eddy timings and locations in ocean model simulations. However, data assimilating models are rarely assessed below the surface due to a paucity of observations, hence it is not clear how data assimilation impacts the subsurface eddy structure. Here, we use a suite of Observing System Simulation Experiments to show how the subsurface representation of eddies is changed within data assimilating simulations even when assimilating nearby observations. We examine in detail two possible manifestations of how the data assimilation process impacts 3-dimensional eddy structure, namely, by producing overly active baroclinic instability and through inaccurate vertical mode structure. Therefore in DA simulations, subsurface temperature structures can be too deep and too warm, particularly in dynamic eddy features. Our analyses demonstrate the need for further basic research in ocean data assimilation methodologies to improve representation of subsurface ocean structure.

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The economics of electricity generation from Gulf Stream currents

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Observing system simulation experiments reveal that subsurface temperature observations improve estimates of circulation and heat content in a dynamic western boundary current

Observing system simulation experiments reveal that subsurface temperature observations improve estimates of circulation and heat content in a dynamic western boundary current

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Grid-Independent Hybrid Power Plant for Co-Supplying a Remote Micro-Community with Electricity and Hydrogen

How does 4DVar data assimilation affect the vertical representation of mesoscale eddies? A case study with OSSEs using ROMS v3.9

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