Energy extraction from ocean currents and waves: Mapping the most promising locations
Abstract
Concerns about fossil fuel supplies and an ever-increasing demand for energy have prompted the search for alternative power sources. One option is the ocean, a power-dense and renewable source of energy, but its capacity to meet human energy demands is poorly understood. Although raw wave energy resources have been investigated at many scales, there is still substantial uncertainty regarding how much useful power can be extracted. Even less is known about the energy available in ocean currents, especially on a global scale. Moreover, no studies have attempted to examine wave and current energy simultaneously while at the same time taking into account geographical, environmental, and technical factors that can substantially limit the amount of extractable energy. In this study, we use high fidelity oceanographic model data to assess the availability, recoverability, and value of energy in ocean wind waves and currents. Global wave energy transport, coastal wave energy flux, and current energy are calculated and mapped using the model data. These maps are then incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) in order to assess the U.S. recoverable ocean energy resource. In the GIS, the amount of recoverable energy is estimated by combining the power output from realistic wave and current energy farms with physical and ecological data such as bathymetry and environmentally protected areas. This holistic approach is then used to examine the distribution and value of extractable wave and current energy along the U.S. coast. The results support previous studies that show that the U.S. West Coast has large potential for wave energy extraction and that the Florida Strait has high potential for current energy extraction. We also show that, at any particular location, the amount of available ocean energy is only one factor of many that determines the ultimate feasibility and value of the energy. We outline ways in which the GIS framework used in this assessment can be enhanced to better model the many variables that affect the value of ocean energy; future research in this area may lead to greater support for developing, testing, and deploying ocean energy converter technology.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFMOS51C1889O
- Keywords:
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- 1928 INFORMATICS / GIS science;
- 4299 OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL / General or miscellaneous;
- 4512 OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL / Currents