Power variability of tidal-stream energy and implications for electricity supply

Lewis, Matthew; McNaughton, James; Márquez-Dominguez, Concha; Todeschini, Grazia; Togneri, Michael; Masters, Ian; Allmark, Matthew; Stallard, Tim; Neill, Simon P.; Goward‐Brown, Alice; Robins, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2019.06.181

Cited by 85 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Nonetheless, turbine developers have been overly conservative because of an uncertainty regarding extreme loads, which significantly increases the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) [6]. Despite having an effect on blade loadings, the presence of fine-scale velocity fluctuations does not increase resource uncertainty substantially, reinforcing the predictability of this source of energy [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave-Turbulence Decomposition Methods Applied to Tidal Energy Site Assessment

et al. 2020

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High levels of turbulence have been proven to substantially increase the blade loadings on tidal turbines, outlining the need of properly characterizing turbulence parameters in tidal energy sites. The presence of long surface gravity waves may cause a significant bias on the estimation of these parameters, which requires wave-turbulence decomposition methods that are currently missing from guidelines. Here, three techniques of decomposing wave and turbulence are tested: the stopband filter (SB), moving average filter (MA), and synchrosqueezing wavelet transform (SWT). The study site, Banks Strait, Tasmania, is a 16 km wide channel that presents high potential for tidal energy generation. Wave peak periods at the study site were found to vary mostly between 7 and 12 s, with maximum exceeding 15 s. Turbulence intensities (TI), turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and integral scales are quantified. Our results indicate differences between the estimates obtained from each method. The MA highly underestimates turbulence, resulting in TI values which were nearly 50% lower than those obtained from other decomposition methods. While TI and TKE estimated from the SB and the SWT techniques are quite similar, integral length scales are considerably underestimated by the SB. These findings reveal that the SWT is a more reliable method because of the more accurate estimates of turbulence parameters and indicate the need of establishing guidelines which address wave-turbulence decomposition in tidal stream energy site assessments. Despite having shown to be quite a versatile technique, further investigation of its applicability in data from other prospective tidal energy sites is necessary to fully assess the generality of the SWT technique.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave-Turbulence Decomposition Methods Applied to Tidal Energy Site Assessment

et al. 2020

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“…In recent decades, the interest in harnessing energy directly from tidal streams with marine hydrokinetic (MHK) devices has been renewed in many countries [1,2]. Compared to other renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, tidal energy is highly predictable in time and space [3]. It thus can potentially serve as a dependable, clean energy resource for suitable tidal systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tidal Hydrodynamic Model for Cook Inlet, Alaska, to Support Tidal Energy Resource Characterization

Wang

Yang

2020

JMSE

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Cook Inlet in Alaska has been identified as a prime site in the U.S. for potential tidal energy development, because of its enormous tidal power potential that accounts for nearly one-third of the national total. As one important step to facilitate tidal energy development, a tidal hydrodynamic model based on the unstructured-grid, finite-volume community ocean model (FVCOM) was developed for Cook Inlet to characterize the tidal stream energy resource. The model has a grid resolution that varies from about 1000 m at the open boundary to 100–300 m inside the Inlet. Extensive model validation was achieved by comparing model predictions with field observations for tidal elevation and velocity at various locations in Cook Inlet. The error statistics confirmed the model performs reasonably well in capturing the tidal dynamics in the system, e.g., R2 > 0.98 for tidal elevation and generally > 0.9 for velocity. Model results suggest that tides in Cook Inlet evolve from progressive waves at the entrance to standing waves at the upper Inlet, and that semi-diurnal tidal constituents are amplified more rapidly than diurnal constituents. The model output was used to identify hotspots that have high energy potential and warrant additional velocity and turbulence measurements such as East Foreland, where averaged power density exceeds 5 kw/m2. Lastly, a tidal energy extraction simulation was conducted for a hypothetical turbine farm configuration at the Forelands cross section to evaluate tidal energy extraction and resulting changes in far-field hydrodynamics.

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“…To this end, the conversion of tidal current power is recently growing up to a crucial sector of the ORE [2,3]. Tidal electricity, with high quality and high predictability, can become an essential part of the high-penetration renewable energy electricity grids in the future [4]. of the ORE [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…of the ORE [2,3]. Tidal electricity, with high quality and high predictability, can become an essential part of the high-penetration renewable energy electricity grids in the future [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts and Performances of Commercial-Scale Turbine Arrays in the Strait of Larantuka, Indonesia

Orhan

Mayerle

2020

JMSE

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The Strait of Larantuka, with highly energetic tidal stream currents reaching speeds of up to 3–4 m/s, is a promising site for renewable electricity production from the ocean. This paper presents the results of an assessment regarding the potential hydrodynamic impacts, wake characteristics, and the performances of large scale turbine arrays in the strait. A high-resolution, three-dimensional baroclinic model is developed using the FLOW module of the Delft3D modeling system to simulate tidal currents. The energy of currents is assumed to be extracted by horizontal-axis tidal turbines, which can harness strong bi-directional flow, positioned on sequential rows and alternating downstream arrangements. Enhanced momentum sinks are used to represent the influence of energy extraction by the tidal turbines. Four different array layouts with rated capacities of up to 35 MW are considered. We find that, in the Strait of Larantuka, array layout significantly affects the flow conditions and the power output, mainly due to the geometric blockage effect of the bounded channel. With respect to undisturbed flow conditions in the strait, decreases in current speeds of up to about 0.6 m/s, alongside increases in the order of 80% near-shore are observed. While operating efficiency rates of turbines reaching around 50%–60% resulted during the spring tide in the arrays with smaller rated capacities, the power output of the devices was negligible during the neap tide.

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Power variability of tidal-stream energy and implications for electricity supply

Cited by 85 publications

References 49 publications

Wave-Turbulence Decomposition Methods Applied to Tidal Energy Site Assessment

Wave-Turbulence Decomposition Methods Applied to Tidal Energy Site Assessment

A Tidal Hydrodynamic Model for Cook Inlet, Alaska, to Support Tidal Energy Resource Characterization

Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts and Performances of Commercial-Scale Turbine Arrays in the Strait of Larantuka, Indonesia

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