The Development of Marine Energy Extraction

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2020) | Viewed by 41104

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Interests: tidal energy generation; device development; experimental and numerical modelling

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Interests: tidal energy generation; device development; experimental and numerical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The extraction of energy from the sea has been shown to be a viable option for delivering a sustainable form of renewable energy into the global energy mix. Over the decades, a number of devices for both tidal and wave energy generation have been developed and shown potential at a reasonable scale of 500 kW and more. There is, though, considerable effort being made to ensure that commercial scale devices, operating in arrays, can deliver cost-effective energy. Given the extreme conditions of many potential sites, this can be challenging, and therefore it is crucial that quality research, design, and testing is continued.

The aim of this invited Special Issue is to publish exciting, up-to-date research in marine energy generation, to provide a rapid turn-around time regarding reviewing and publishing, and to disseminate articles freely for research, teaching, and reference purposes.

Prof. Dr. Tim O`Doherty
Dr. Allan Mason-Jones
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • tidal energy-device development and testing
  • wave energy-device development and testing
  • moorings
  • resource assessment
  • environmental impacts
  • policy, legislation, and socio-economic impacts
  • case studies

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 159 KiB  
Editorial
The Development of Marine Energy Extraction
by Tim O’Doherty and Allan Mason-Jones
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(5), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8050321 - 1 May 2020
Viewed by 1748
Abstract
Accompanied with an increase in world population there is a growing demand for energy from both the industrial and domestic sectors [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)

Research

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24 pages, 8666 KiB  
Article
Validation of Tidal Stream Turbine Wake Predictions and Analysis of Wake Recovery Mechanism
by Sanchit Salunkhe, Oumnia El Fajri, Shanti Bhushan, David Thompson, Daphne O’Doherty, Tim O’Doherty and Allan Mason-Jones
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(10), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7100362 - 11 Oct 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4861
Abstract
This paper documents the predictive capability of rotating blade-resolved unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) computations for tidal stream turbine performance and intermediate wake characteristics. Ansys/Fluent and OpenFOAM simulations are performed using mixed-cell, unstructured grids consisting of [...] Read more.
This paper documents the predictive capability of rotating blade-resolved unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) computations for tidal stream turbine performance and intermediate wake characteristics. Ansys/Fluent and OpenFOAM simulations are performed using mixed-cell, unstructured grids consisting of up to 11 million cells. The thrust, power and intermediate wake predictions compare reasonably well within 10% of the experimental data. For the wake predictions, OpenFOAM performs better than Ansys/Fluent, and IDDES better than URANS when the resolved turbulence is triggered. The primary limitation of the simulations is under prediction of the wake diffusion towards the turbine axis, which in return is related to the prediction of turbulence in the tip-vortex shear layer. The shear-layer involves anisotropic turbulent structures; thus, hybrid RANS/LES models, such as IDDES, are preferred over URANS. Unfortunately, IDDES fails to accurately predict the resolved turbulence in the near-wake region due to the modeled stress depletion issue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)
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21 pages, 2869 KiB  
Article
Wave Energy in Tropical Regions: Deployment Challenges, Environmental and Social Perspectives
by Angélica Felix, Jassiel V. Hernández-Fontes, Débora Lithgow, Edgar Mendoza, Gregorio Posada, Michael Ring and Rodolfo Silva
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(7), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070219 - 14 Jul 2019
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 11348
Abstract
The harnessing of renewable sources of marine energy has become a promising solution for a number of problems, namely satisfying the increasing demand for electricity, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the provision of energy to regions unconnected to a national grid. [...] Read more.
The harnessing of renewable sources of marine energy has become a promising solution for a number of problems, namely satisfying the increasing demand for electricity, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the provision of energy to regions unconnected to a national grid. Tropical countries have an interesting dichotomy: Despite their varied potential sources of marine energy, their environmental and social conditions impose severe constraints on the development of a renewable energy industry. Moreover, the exploitation of these opportunities is limited by national economies’ reliance on fossil fuels, political and social restraints, and technological immaturity. The present work addresses challenges and opportunities common to wave energy implementation in tropical nations, as a first approach to a regional diagnosis. The motivation for this work is to encourage research on wave energy policies in the Tropics. Technical, environmental, and social challenges to be overcome in wave energy projects are discussed. The technical challenges are grouped into development, deployment, and operation stages of wave energy converters; environmental challenges are divided into biodiversity, cumulative effects, and monitoring aspects, whilst social issues include population growth and energy access matters. The Mexican strategy for developing sustainable technology throughout the wave energy production chain is also presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)
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20 pages, 4441 KiB  
Article
On the Marine Energy Resources of Mexico
by Jassiel V. Hernández-Fontes, Angélica Felix, Edgar Mendoza, Yandy Rodríguez Cueto and Rodolfo Silva
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(6), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7060191 - 22 Jun 2019
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 7340
Abstract
The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico offer a variety of marine energy sources for exploitation. Although the Mexican government has made important efforts to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, national participation in clean energies is still limited in terms of electricity [...] Read more.
The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico offer a variety of marine energy sources for exploitation. Although the Mexican government has made important efforts to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, national participation in clean energies is still limited in terms of electricity production. This paper presents a practical theoretical assessment of marine energy sources around Mexico, with the aim of identifying potential zones for subsequent, more detailed, technical evaluations and project implementations. The energy sources considered are ocean currents, waves, salinity, and thermal gradients. Using global databases, the percentages of energy availability for the defined thresholds were computed to establish the prospective regions with the most persistent power availability. This approach proved to offer more meaningful information than simple averaged values. Moreover, some environmental and socio-economic factors to be considered for future ocean energy resource assessments in Mexico were also discussed. The results show that the wave energy potential is highest in the northwest of Mexico (~2–10 kW/m for more than 50% of the time), and that there is a constant source of ocean current energy off Quintana Roo state (~32–215 W/m2 for more than 50% of the time). The thermal gradient power is more persistent in the southwest and southeast of the country, where ~100–200 MW can be found 70% of the time. The salinity gradient energy is strongest in the southeast of Mexico. The practical approach presented here can be extended to perform preliminary resources assessments in regions where information is scarce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)
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18 pages, 13196 KiB  
Article
Energy Yield Assessment from Ocean Currents in the Insular Shelf of Cozumel Island
by Juan Carlos Alcérreca-Huerta, Job Immanuel Encarnacion, Stephanie Ordoñez-Sánchez, Mariana Callejas-Jiménez, Gabriel Gallegos Diez Barroso, Matthew Allmark, Ismael Mariño-Tapia, Rodolfo Silva Casarín, Tim O’Doherty, Cameron Johnstone and Laura Carrillo
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(5), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7050147 - 15 May 2019
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6322
Abstract
Marine renewables represent a promising and innovative alternative source for satisfying the energy demands of growing populations while reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. Most technological advancements and energy yield assessments have focused on promoting the use of kinetic energy from tidal streams [...] Read more.
Marine renewables represent a promising and innovative alternative source for satisfying the energy demands of growing populations while reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. Most technological advancements and energy yield assessments have focused on promoting the use of kinetic energy from tidal streams with flow velocities higher than 2.0 m s−1. However, slower-moving flows from ocean currents are recently explored due to their nearly continuous and unidirectional seasonal flows. In this study, the potential of the Yucatan Current was analysed at nearshore sites over the insular shelf of Cozumel Island in the Mexican Caribbean. Field measurements were undertaken using a vessel-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to analyse the spatial distribution of flow velocities, along with Conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles as well as data gathering of bathymetry and water elevations. Northward directed flow velocities were identified, with increasing velocities just before the end of the strait of the Cozumel Channel, where average velocities in the region of 0.88–1.04 m s−1 were recorded. An estimation of power delivery using horizontal axis turbines was undertaken with Blade Element Momentum theory. It was estimated that nearly 3.2 MW could be supplied to Cozumel Island, amounting to about 10% of its electricity consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)
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Review

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26 pages, 2497 KiB  
Review
Life Cycle Assessment of Ocean Energy Technologies: A Systematic Review
by María Guadalupe Paredes, Alejandro Padilla-Rivera and Leonor Patricia Güereca
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(9), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7090322 - 17 Sep 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 8692
Abstract
The increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated by the burning of fossil fuels has been recognized as one of the main causes of climate change (CC). Different countries of the world have developed new policies on national energy security directed to the use [...] Read more.
The increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated by the burning of fossil fuels has been recognized as one of the main causes of climate change (CC). Different countries of the world have developed new policies on national energy security directed to the use of renewable energies mainly, ocean energy being one of them. The implementation of ocean energy is increasing worldwide. However, the use of these technologies is not exempt from the generation of potential environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. In this context, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or system throughout its entire life cycle. LCA studies need to be conducted to foster the development of ocean energy technologies (OET) in sustainable management. In this paper, a systematic review was conducted and 18 LCA studies of OET were analyzed. Most of the LCA studies are focused on wave and tidal energy. CC is the most relevant impact category evaluated, which is generated mostly by raw material extraction, manufacturing stage and shipping operations. Finally, the critical stages of the systems evaluated were identified, together with, the opportunity areas to promote an environmental management for ocean energy developers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Development of Marine Energy Extraction)
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