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At least 37 records · Page 2

A review of tidal energy—Resource, feedbacks, and environmental interactions

The ocean contains a variety of renewable energy resources, little of which has been exploited. Here, we review both tidal range and tidal stream energy, with a focus on the resource, feedbacks, and environmental interactions. The review covers a wide range of timescales of relevance to tidal energy, from fortnightly (spring-neap) and semi-diurnal variability, down to array, and device-scale turbulence. When simulating the regional tidal energy resource, and to assess environmental impacts, it is necessary to account for feedbacks between the tidal array and the resource itself. We critically review various methods for simulating energy extraction, from insights gained through theoretical studies of “tidal fences” in idealized channels, to realistic three-dimensional model studies with complex geometry and arrays of turbines represented by momentum sinks and additional turbulence due to the presence of rotors and support structures. We discuss how variability can be reduced by developing multiple (aggregated) sites with a consideration of the enhanced phase diversity offered by exploiting less energetic tidal currents. This leads to future research questions that have not yet been explored in depth at first-generation tidal sites in relatively sheltered channels (e.g., the interaction of waves with currents). Such enhanced understanding of real sea conditions, including the effects of wind and waves, leads to our other identified primary future research direction—reduced uncertainties in turbulence predictions, including the development of realistic models that simulate the interaction between ambient turbulence and the turbulence resulting from multiple wakes, and changes to system-wide hydrodynamics, water quality, and sedimentation.

Environmental impacts↗

Significant Dissipation of Tidal Energy in the Deep Ocean Inferred from Satellite Altimeter Data

How and where the ocean tides dissipate their energy are longstanding questions that have consequences ranging from the history of the Moon to the mixing of the oceans. Historically, the principal sink of tidal energy has been thought to be bottom friction in shallow seas. There has long been suggestive however, that tidal dissipation also occurs in the open ocean through the scattering by ocean-bottom topography of surface tides into internal waves, but estimates of the magnitude of this possible sink have varied widely. Here we use satellite altimeter data from Topex/Poseidon to map empirically the tidal energy dissipation. We show that approximately 10(exp 12) watts-that is, 1 TW, representing 25-30% of the total dissipation-occurs in the deep ocean, generally near areas of rough topography. Of the estimated 2 TW of mixing energy required to maintain the large-scale thermohaline circulation of the ocean, one-half could therefore be provided by the tides, with the other half coming from action on the surface of the ocean.

Egbert, G. D.↗

Performance and Wake Characterization of a Model Hydrokinetic Turbine: The Reference Model 1 (RM1) Dual Rotor Tidal Energy Converter

The mechanical power and wake flow field of a 1:40 scale model of the US Department of Energy’s Reference Model 1 (RM1) dual rotor tidal energy converter are characterized in an open-channel flume to evaluate power performance and wake flow recovery. The NACA-63(4)-24 hydrofoil profile in the original RM1 design is replaced with a NACA-4415 profile to minimize the Reynolds dependency of lift and drag characteristics at the test chord Reynolds number. Precise blade angular position and torque measurements were synchronized with three acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADV) aligned with each rotor centerline and the midpoint between the rotor axes. Flow conditions for each case were controlled to maintain a hub height velocity, uhub= 1.04 ms−1, a flow Reynolds number, ReD= 4.4 × 105, and a blade chord length Reynolds number, Rec= 3.1 × 105. Performance was measured for a range of tip-speed ratios by varying rotor angular velocity. Peak power coefficients, CP= 0.48 (right rotor) and CP= 0.43 (left rotor), were observed at a tip speed ratio, λ= 5.1. Vertical velocity profiles collected in the wake of each rotor between 1 and 10 rotor diameters are used to estimate the turbulent flow recovery in the wake, as well as the interaction of the counter-rotating rotor wakes. The observed performance characteristics of the dual rotor configuration in the present study are found to be similar to those for single rotor investigations in other studies. Similarities between dual and single rotor far-wake characteristics are also observed.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Data for Post-Access Report: Tidal Energy Resource Characterization and Model Validation via the Assessment of Cost-effective Spatially Distributed Current Measurements from microFloat Swarms

This project evaluated how high-resolution, spatially distributed field data can be used to refine and validate site-scale hydrodynamic simulations of tidal channels. Use of such spatially-distributed field observations or site-scale hydrodynamic simulations will be needed for producing accurate predictions of tidal energy production over larger arrays of tidal turbines. The data contained in this archive includes field observations of water velocity from a series of short surveys in Agate Pass taken on August 20th, 2020 using station-keeping ADCP (acoustic doppler current profiler) measurements, drifting downward-looking ADCPs, and microFloats, gathered by researchers at APL-UW under a previous project. It also includes high-resolution hydrodynamic model runs for the site during that time generated under TEAMER support. An explanatory file (.pdf format) describes the survey and field data structure. Processed data is stored in .mat format. Survey summary: start time, number of floats, water level. microFloat data: - Cleaned data for each float in survey, - Time series of position (lat., lon.), depth (relative to surface), and horizontal velocity (u, v) Drifting ADCP data: - Cleaned data for each drifting ADCP in survey - Time series of position (lat., lon.), sample depth (relative to surface), and observed water velocity (u,v,w) Stationary ADCP data: - Cleaned data for each station-keeping data set in survey - Time series of position (lat., lon.), sample depth (relative to surface), and observed water velocity (u,v,w) FVCOM (Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model) model outputs: Water level and velocity, as well as derived variables (e.g., power density) from the final refined model simulations for the Agate Pass subdomain. Contained in NetCDF and ASCII files for the duration of August 18th and 20th 2020 field surveys. Additional scripts for processing the data and generating the figures in the report are included.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Tidal Energy Dissipation from Topex/Poseidon

In a recent paper ({\it Nature, 405,} 775, 2000) we concluded that 25 to 30\% of the ocean's tidal energy dissipation, or about 1 terawatt, occurs in the deep ocean, with the remaining 2.6 TW in shallow seas. The physical mechanism for deep-ocean dissipation is apparently scattering of the surface tide into internal modes; Munk and Wunsch have suggested that this mechanism may provide half the power needed for mixing the deep-ocean. This paper builds further evidence for $1\pm 0.2$ TW of deep-ocean dissipation. The evidence is extracted from tidal elevations deduced from seven years of Topex/Poseidon satellite altimeter data. The dissipation rate Is formed as a balance between the rate of working by tidal forces and the energy flux divergence. While dynamical assumptions are required to compute fluxes, area integrals of the energy balance are, owing to the tight satellite constraints, remarkably insensitive to these assumptions. A large suite of tidal solutions based on a wide range of dynamical assumptions, on perturbations to bathymetric models, and on simulated elevation data are used to assess this sensitivity. These and Monte Carlo error fields from a generalized inverse model are used to establish error uncertainties.

Ray, Richard D.↗

Open-Source Tidal Energy Converter (OSTEC) Testbed: Design Basis Report

This report describes the design basis and design details for an instrumented marine turbine system intended to serve as the DOE’s marine tidal turbine test bed for foundational open-source R&D and data generation to advance our understanding and to identify knowledge gaps on the techno-economic performance of tidal energy converters (TEC) under real tidal flow conditions and at sufficiently large scale to enable upscaling of fluid-structure-interactions and component and material load responses

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Tidal Energy Available for Deep Ocean Mixing: Bounds from Altimetry Data

Maintenance of the large-scale thermohaline circulation has long presented an interesting problem. Observed mixing rates in the pelagic ocean are an order of magnitude too small to balance the rate at which dense bottom water is created at high latitudes. Recent observational and theoretical work suggests that much of this mixing may occur in hot spots near areas of rough topography (e.g., mid-ocean ridges and island arcs). Barotropic tidal currents provide a very plausible source of energy to maintain these mixing processes. Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry data have made precise mapping of open ocean tidal elevations possible for the first time. We can thus obtain empirical, spatially localized, estimates of barotropic tidal dissipation. These provide an upper bound on the amount of tidal energy that is dissipated in the deep ocean, and hence is available for deep mixing. We will present and compare maps of open ocean tidal energy flux divergence, and estimates of tidal energy flux into shallow seas, derived from T/P altimetry data using both formal data assimilation methods and empirical approaches. With the data assimilation methods we can place formal error bars on the fluxes. Our results show that 20-25% of tidal energy dissipation occurs outside of the shallow seas, the traditional sink for tidal energy. This suggests that up to 1 TW of energy may be available from the tides (lunar and solar) for mixing the deep ocean. The dissipation indeed appears to be concentrated over areas of rough topography.

Ray, Richard D.↗

Tidal Energy Available for Deep Ocean Mixing: Bounds From Altimetry Data

Maintenance of the large-scale thermohaline circulation has long presented a problem to oceanographers. Observed mixing rates in the pelagic ocean are an order of magnitude too small to balance the rate at which dense bottom water is created at high latitudes. Recent observational and theoretical work suggests that much of this mixing may occur in hot spots near areas of rough topography (e.g., mid-ocean ridges and island arcs). Barotropic tidal currents provide a very plausible source of energy to maintain these mixing processes. Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry data have made precise mapping of open ocean tidal elevations possible for the first time. We can thus obtain empirical, spatially localized, estimates of barotropic tidal dissipation. These provide an upper bound on the amount of tidal energy that is dissipated in the deep ocean, and hence is available for deep mixing. We will present and compare maps of open ocean tidal energy flux divergence, and estimates of tidal energy flux into shallow seas, derived from T/P altimetry data using both formal data assimilation methods and empirical approaches. With the data assimilation methods we can place formal error bars on the fluxes. Our results show that 20-25% of tidal energy dissipation occurs outside of the shallow seas, the traditional sink for tidal energy. This suggests that up to 1 TW of energy may be available from the tides (lunar and solar) for mixing the deep ocean. The dissipation indeed appears to be concentrated over areas of rough topography.

Egbert, Gary D.↗

Tidal Energy Available for Deep Ocean Mixing: Bounds from Altimetry Data

Maintenance of the large-scale thermohaline circulation has long presented a problem to oceanographers. Observed mixing rates in the pelagic ocean are an order of magnitude too small to balance the rate at which dense bottom water is created at high latitudes. Recent observational and theoretical work suggests that much of this mixing may occur in hot spots near areas of rough topography (e.g., mid-ocean ridges and island arcs). Barotropic tidal currents provide a very plausible source of energy to maintain these mixing processes. Topex/Poseidon (T/P) satellite altimetry data have made precise mapping of open ocean tidal elevations possible for the first time. We can thus obtain empirical, spatially localized, estimates of barotropic tidal dissipation. These provide an upper bound on the amount of tidal energy that is dissipated in the deep ocean, and hence is available for deep mixing. We will present and compare maps of open ocean tidal energy flux divergence, and estimates of tidal energy flux into shallow seas, derived from T/P altimetry data using both formal data assimilation methods and empirical approaches. With the data assimilation methods we can place formal error bars on the fluxes. Our results show that 20-25% of tidal energy dissipation occurs outside of the shallow seas, the traditional sink for tidal energy. This suggests that up to 1 TW of energy may be available from the tides (lunar and solar) for mixing the deep ocean. The dissipation indeed appears to be concentrated over areas of rough topography.

Egbert, Gary D.↗

Rosario Strait Tidal Energy plus Energy Storage — Preliminary Economic Assessment

The Orcas Power and Light Co-op (OPALCO) is a non-profit utility that provides energy services to approximately 11,700 customers across 20 islands in San Juan County, Washington. OPALCO is developing a diverse set of local renewable energy resources to reduce dependence on mainland Washington State for energy and to reduce the regional need for fossil-fueled power. OPALCO’s load doubles in winter but solar production is roughly 20% of levels reached in summer periods. Tidal energy is strong year-round, night and day, and is predictable, requiring much less storage to firm it. To assess the technical and economic feasibility of tidal power, working in combination with multiple other distributed energy resources (DERs), Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) employed an optimization model to evaluate several economic benefits associated with varying scales of tidal power of between 2.4 and 9.6 megawatts (MW) and other DERs. In addition to existing photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) resources located on Decatur Island, Argonne also evaluated the addition of a BESS on southern Orcas Island with power and energy capacities ranging from 1-4 MW and 2-4 hours in storage duration.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Tidal Energy Resource Characterization, Velocity and Turbulence Measurements, Processed Data, Cook Inlet, AK, 2021

This submission contains processed datasets from a long-term deployment of 3 moorings and a transect survey of the proposed tidal energy site off the East Forelands in Cook Inlet, AK. The long-term mooring datasets were created from 8 instruments mounted on a Terrasond High Energy Oceanographic Mooring (THEOM) bottom lander and two Mid-Water Mooring (MWM) Stablemoor buoys from 1 July 2021 to 31 August 2021 (60 days). The west-most mooring (MWM1) was deployed at 60.720225 N, 151.436196 W in ~50 m of water. The middle mooring (THEOM) was deployed at 60.720703 N, 151.429500 W in ~52 m of water. The east-most buoy (MWM2) was deployed at 60.720081 N, 151.420896 W in ~50 m of water. Each Stablemoor carried three instruments: 1. A Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) mounted at the Stablemoor's nose. Data were recorded at 8 Hz on a 5 minute duty cycle every 20 minutes. Data was motion-corrected using the internal IMU and external ADCP bottom-track data and then bin-averaged into 4 minute bins and converted to the Principal (streamwise, cross-stream, vertical) coordinate system. (Note: 30 seconds were trimmed from the beginning and end of each 5 minute duty cycle to account for the filter end-effects from turning on and turning off the IMU.) 2. A down-looking Nortek Signature 1000 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted in the first Stablemoor instrument well. Data were recorded in 2 Hz with 5-beam burst and bottom-track enabled. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minute bins and converted into the Principal coordinate system. 3. An up-looking Nortek Signature 1000 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted in the second Stablemoor instrument well. Data were recorded at 4 Hz with 5 beam burst enabled. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minute bins and converted into the Principal coordinate system. Note: the down-facing ADCP on MWM1 failed on July 10th, 2021, only recording 9 days of data. Because ADV motion-correction required bottom track, the ADV from MWM1 also only has 9 days processed. Additionally, only 25 days of data were processed from the MWM2 ADV because it appeared to have been impacted by debris on 7/25. Two instruments were mounted on the THEOM (see MHKDR link further below for THEOM raw data): 4. A Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Data were recorded at 8 Hz on a 5 minute duty cycle every 20 minutes. Data was bin-averaged into 5 minute bins, and converted to the Principal coordinate system. 5. A Nortek Signature 500 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). Data were recorded in 4 Hz in the beam coordinate system from all 5 beams. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minutes bins and converted to the Principal coordinate system.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Hydrokinetic tidal energy resource assessment following international electrotechnical commission guidelines

Marine renewable energy can be used as a viable energy source to alleviate the impact of the climate crisis and have a carbon-free electricity sector in the future. Especially the energetic tidal streams are an attractive source of clean energy due to the periodic occurrence of high tidal flows daily. However, before any deployment of tidal turbine farms, it is essential to perform a resource assessment depending on the scope and scale of the project. Here, the International Electrotechnical Commission has developed a technical standard for assessing the tidal stream resource "IEC 62600-201 TS" to aid in this effort: determine a particular site's feasibility and perform the project layout design. In this study, we implemented and validated a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model and provided results following the IEC TS for a project layout design in a highly energetic tidal channel, Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound, in the State of Washington, USA. Implementation of the guidelines has helped adequately identify the undisturbed theoretical and technical resources with less bias, where the latter included energy extraction from the flow field arranging a hypothetical tidal energy converter (TEC) array. Also, following the standard, we carefully assessed the changes to channel flow properties from TECs, such as the kinetic energy flux and annual energy production (AEP), to provide the detailed information required for a larger project layout design. Ultimately, this work has shown the important role of IEC TS in tidal stream resource assessment, which can simultaneously act as a benchmark for other studies worldwide.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Tidal Energy Resource Characterization, Bottom Lander Measurements, Cook Inlet, AK, 2021

These datasets are from tidal resource characterization measurements collected on the Terrasond High Energy Oceanographic Mooring (THEOM) from 1 July 2021 to 30 August 2021 (60 days) in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The lander was deployed at 60.7207031 N, 151.4294998 W in ~50 m of water. The dataset contains raw and processed data from the following two instruments: 1. A Nortek Signature 500 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). Data were recorded in 4 Hz in the beam coordinate system from all 5 beams. Processed data has been averaged into 5 minutes bins and converted to the East-North-Up (ENU) coordinate system. 2. A Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Data were recorded at 8 Hz in the beam coordinate system. Processed data has been averaged into 5 minutes bins and converted to the Streamwise - Cross-stream - Vertical (Principal) coordinate system. Turbulence statistics were calculated from 5-minute bins, with an FFT length equal to the bin length, and saved in the processed dataset. Data was read and analyzed using the DOLfYN (version 1.0.2) python package and saved in MATLAB (.mat) and netCDF (.nc) file formats. Files containing analyzed data (".b1") were standardized using the TSDAT (version 0.4.2) python package. NetCDF files can be opened using DOLfYN (e.g., `dat = dolfyn.load(''*.nc")`) or the xarray python package (e.g. `dat = xarray.open_dataset("*.nc"). All distances are in meters (e.g., depth, range, etc), and all velocities in m/s. See the DOLfYN documentation linked in the submission, and/or the Nortek documentation for additional details.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

New estimates of oceanic tidal energy dissipation from satellite altimetry

As a novel approach to computing the flux of tidal power into shelf areas, tidal maps of an oceanic area near the Patagonian Shelf are derived from 11 months of altimetry records from the GEOSAT satellite. Power fluxes are computed from the maps through Laplace's tidal equations. Flux vectors for M2 clearly show a convergence on to the southern portion of the shelf sea and their total is nearly twice the loss computed by Miller for that area. A decrease of 'quality factor' with frequency from M2 to S2 is in keeping with Webb's hypothesis of shelf resonances at frequencies a little higher than the tidal band.

Cartwright, David E.↗

Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Resource Characterization Effort

Located in the southcentral region of Alaska, Cook Inlet contains one of the greatest tidal resources in the world. A pinch point in the channel increases the water velocity and provides an excellent site for a potential tidal farm. Access to affordable, clean power would provide a cascade of economic benefits to Alaskans, who face some of the highest energy costs and most extreme climates in the U.S. NREL researchers are collaborating with universities and private partners to gain a better understanding of the underwater environment to pave the way for development of an efficient, durable tidal farm. This summer, they will deploy a buoy in Cook Inlet to characterize the site.

50 EE - Wind and Water Power Program - Water (EE-4↗

Simulation of a High-Confinement Tidal Energy Array (Abstract)

When the projected area of a current turbine array occupies a substantial fraction of a tidal or river channel cross-sectional area, the confinement associated with the channel boundaries substantially increases turbine efficiency. This effect can be exploited to substantially reduce the levelized cost of energy for current turbine arrays. However, the presence of such an array will affect inflow velocity, water depth, and circulation in the surrounding area. This has implications for array performance and environmental impacts. This project combines existing numerical modeling capability from PNNL with an understanding of confined array performance from UW. The work will 1) Simulate tidal currents and water surface elevation in a regional circulation model that includes the Knik Arm site at appropriate resolution; 2) Incorporate a varying thrust coefficient into this model that reflects the outcomes of tidal hydrodynamic simulations of confined turbine arrays; 3) Use the model to determine the effects of array operation on water levels and inflow conditions as a function of different blockage ratios and control strategies; and 4) Identify the “far field” environmental implications of operating an array of this type. UW will use the outputs from this model to evaluate the implications of “feedback effects” and variable inflow conditions on levelized cost of energy estimates for a confinement exploiting array of cross-flow turbines.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Design and Assessment of a Novel Approach for Ecosystem Warming Experiments in High‐Energy Tidal Wetlands

Abstract Coastal salt marshes have an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. Direct and indirect responses to warming are expected to vary along the marsh elevation gradient, making ecosystem responses to warming at this marine‐terrestrial ecotone uncertain. The Marsh Ecosystem Response to Increased Temperatures (MERIT) experiment was established in 2018 on the North Sea coast of Germany. Experimental plots are evenly distributed over three elevational marsh zones (pioneer, low marsh, and high marsh) and include three temperature treatments (ambient, +1.5°C, +3.0°C). MERIT's novel design combines active warming (horizontal surface warming cables and vertical soil warming pins) with passive, partially covered domes. For performance assessment, temperature deltas between ambient and warmed plots were calculated and evaluated at seasonal, daily, and diurnal timescales. We used Linear Mixed Models with Residual Maximum Likelihood for evaluating warming treatment effects and constraining environmental factors. MERIT was effective at ecosystem warming in this high‐energy environment both above‐ and belowground. Mixed models show that warming treatment dominates temperature differences belowground and at the soil surface, along with factors such as wind speed, flooding duration, and solar radiation. Aboveground warming was lower than belowground warming, but the dome design minimized issues seen in other open‐top chamber experiments. The combination of passive aboveground warming with feedback‐controlled active surface and belowground heating provides a setup for understanding warming effects on tidal ecosystems without altering the natural impacts of wind, radiation, and tidal inundations at high‐energy coastlines. Our design creates opportunities to expand future warming experiments to remote locations and technically challenging environments.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

Version 2 - Tidal Energy Resource Characterization, Velocity and Turbulence Measurements, Cook Inlet, AK, 2021

Version 2 of MHKDR submission #475, which also contains the metadata for these measurements. Files here are stored in netCDF4 format, which can be read in Python using the "netcdf4" or "xarray" packages or in MATLAB using the "ncread()" function. Changes are as follows: MWM1 (mid-water mooring 1) ADV - Time length of data now ends when bottom track data is lost - Improved filtering and quality control of bottom track measurements - improved motion correction of velocity - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), Reynolds stress, time interval (TI), and dissipation rate estimations MWM1 Down-Looking ADCP - Improved filtering and quality control of bottom track measurements - improved motion correction of velocity - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TI and dissipation rate estimations - Removed TKE calculations - accuracy could not be verified MWM1 Up-Looking ADCP - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TI and dissipation rate estimations - Removed TKE calculations - accuracy could not be verified - Velocity unchanged MWM2 ADV - Removes data after instrument was hit by debris - Improved filtering and quality control of bottom track measurements - improved motion correction of velocity - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved velocity, TKE, Reynolds stress, TI, and dissipation rate estimations MWM2 Down-Looking ADCP - Improved filtering and quality control of bottom track measurements - improved motion correction of velocity - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TI and dissipation rate estimations - Removed TKE calculations - accuracy could not be verified MWM2 Up-Looking ADCP - Improved filtering and quality control of bottom track measurements - improved motion correction of velocity - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TI and dissipation rate estimations - Removed TKE calculations - accuracy could not be verified THEOM (bottom lander) ADV - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TKE, Reynolds stress, TI, and dissipation rate estimations - Velocity unchanged THEOM ADCP (up-looking) - Improved Doppler noise subtraction - improved TKE, TI, and dissipation rate estimations - Removed vertical TKE component (w'w' bar) - Velocity unchanged

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗