ME165-1

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

Week-7 Energy from the Oceans
2015-16 / 3T

Prepared By:
Engr. Estelito V. Mamuyac
12 February 2016

OCEAN ENERGY
Ocean energy or ocean power (also sometimes referred to as marine
energy or marine power) refers to the energy carried by ocean waves,
tides, salinity, and ocean temperature differences.
The movement of water in the worlds oceans creates a vast store of
kinetic energy, or energy in motion.
This energy can be harnessed to generate electricity to power homes,
transport and industries.
The term ocean energy encompasses both wave power power from
surface waves, and tidal power obtained from the kinetic energy of
large bodies of moving water.

OCEAN ENERGY
Offshore wind power is not a form of marine energy, as wind
power is derived from the wind, even if the wind turbines are
placed over water.
The oceans have a tremendous amount of energy and are
close to many if not most concentrated populations.
Ocean energy has the potential of providing a substantial
amount of new renewable energy around the world.

OCEAN ENERGY
Potential of Ocean Energy
The theoretical potential is equivalent to 4-18 million ToE*.
Theoretical global ocean energy resource

Capacity
(GW)

Annual gen.
(TWh)

Form

5,000

50,000

Marine current power

20

2,000

Osmotic power

1,000

10,000

Ocean thermal energy

90

800

Tidal energy

1,0009,000

8,00080,000

Wave energy

*Ton of Oil Equivalent

OCEAN ENERGY
Forms of Ocean Energy
I.

Marine Current Power

The energy obtained from ocean currents
II. Osmotic Power
The energy from salinity gradients.
III. Tidal Power
The energy from moving masses of water a popular form of hydroelectric
power generation.
Tidal power generation comprises three main forms, namely: tidal stream
power, tidal barrage power, and dynamic tidal power.

OCEAN ENERGY
Forms of Ocean Energy
IV. Wave Power
The power from surface waves.
V. Ocean Thermal Energy
The power from temperature differences at varying depths.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Marine current power is a form of marine energy obtained from
harnessing of the kinetic energy of marine currents, such as the Gulf
stream.
Marine current power has an important potential for future electricity
generation. Marine currents are more predictable than wind and solar
power.
A 2006 report from United States Department of the Interior estimates
that capturing just 1/1,000th of the available energy from the Gulf
Stream, which has 21,000 times more energy than Niagara Falls in a flow
of water that is 50 times the total flow of all the worlds freshwater rivers,
would supply Florida with 35% of its electrical needs.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Marine currents are caused mainly by the rise and fall of the tides
resulting from the gravitational interactions between earth, moon, and
sun, causing the whole sea to ow.
Other effects such as regional differences in temperature and salinity and
the Coriolis effect due to the rotation of the earth are also major
inuences.
The kinetic energy of marine currents can be converted in much the same
way that a wind turbine extracts energy from the wind, using various
types of open-ow rotors.
The potential of electric power generation from marine tidal currents is
enormous.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

There are several factors that make electricity generation from marine
currents very appealing when compared to other renewables:
The high load factors resulting from the uid properties.
The predictability of the resource, so that, unlike most of other
renewables, the future availability of energy can be known and planned
for.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

The potentially large resource that can be
exploited with little environmental impact,
thereby offering one of the least damaging
methods for large-scale electricity
generation.
The feasibility of marine-current power
installations to provide also base grid power,
especially if two or more separate arrays
with offset peak-ow periods are
interconnected.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Early Experiences
The possible use of marine currents as an energy resource began to
draw attention in the mid-1970s after the rst oil crisis.
In 1974 several conceptual designs were presented at the MacArthur
Workshop on Energy.
In 1976 the British General Electric Co. undertook a partially
government-founded study which concluded that Marine Current
Power deserved more detailed research.
Soon after, the ITD-Group in UK implemented a research program
involving a year performance testing of a 3-m hydroDarrieus rotor
deployed at Juba on the Nile.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Early Experiences (contd.)
The 1980s saw a number of small research projects to evaluate
Marine Current Power systems. The main countries where studies
were carried out were the UK, Canada, and Japan.
In 19921993 the Tidal Stream Energy Review identied specic sites
in UK waters with suitable current speed to generate up to 58
TWh/year. It conrmed a total Marine Current Power resource
capable theoretically of meeting some 19% of the UK electricity
demand.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Early Experiences (contd.)
In 19941995 the EU-JOULE CENEX project involved a resourceassessment compilation of a database of European locations in
which over 100 sites ranging from 2 to 200 km2 of sea-bed area were
identied, many with power densities above 10 MW/km2.
Both the UK Government and the EU have committed themselves to
internationally negotiated agreements designed to combat global
warming.
In order to comply with such agreements, an increase in large-scale
electricity generation from renewable resources will be required.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Early Experiences (contd.)
Marine currents have the potential to supply a substantial share of
future EU electricity needs.
The study of 106 possible sites for tidal turbines in the EU showed a
total potential for power generation of about 50 TWh/year.
If this resource is to be successfully utilized, the technology required
could form the basis of a major new industry to produce clean power
for the 21st century.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Available technologies in marine-current-power applications
There are several types of open-ow devices that can be used in
marine-current-power applications; many of them are modern
descendants of the old concept of the waterwheel or similar.
However, the more technically sophisticated designs, derived from
wind-power rotors, are the most likely to achieve enough costeffectiveness and reliability to be practical in a massive marinecurrent-power future scenario.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Available technologies in marine-current-power (contd.)
Even though there is no generally accepted term for these open-ow
hydro-turbines, some sources refer to them as water-current
turbines.
There are two main types of Water Current-Turbines that might be
considered: axial-ow horizontal-axis propellers (with both variablepitch or xed-pitch), and cross-ow vertical-axis Darrieus rotors.

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

Available technologies in marine-current-power (contd.)

Both rotor types may be combined with any of the three main
methods for supporting Water-Current Turbines: oating moored
systems, sea-bed mounted systems, and intermediate systems.
Sea-bed-mounted monopile structures constitute the rst-generation
Marine Current Power systems. They have the advantage of using
existing (and reliable) engineering know-how, but they are limited to
relatively shallow waters (about 20 to 40 m deep).

I. MARINE CURRENT POWER

SEAGEN in Northern
Irelands Strangford
Lough.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Osmotic power or salinity gradient power is the energy available from
the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river
water.
Two practical methods for this are reverse electrodialysis (RED) and
pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO).
Both processes rely on osmosis with ion specific membranes.
The key waste product is brackish water.
This byproduct is the result of natural forces that are being harnessed: the flow of
fresh water into seas that are made up of salt water.

The technologies have been confirmed in laboratory conditions. They are

being developed into commercial use in the Netherlands (RED) and
Norway (PRO).

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

The cost of the membrane has been an obstacle. A new, cheap
membrane, based on an electrically modified polyethylene plastic,
made it fit for potential commercial use.
Other methods have been proposed and are currently under
development. Among them, a method based on electric double-layer
capacitor technology and a method based on vapor pressure difference.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

The world's first osmotic power plant with capacity of 4 kW was opened
by Statkraft on 24 November 2009 in Tofte, Norway.

This plant uses polyimide as a membrane, and is able to produce

1W/m of membrane. This amount of power is obtained at 10 l of
water flowing through the membrane per sec, and at a pressure of
10 bar. Both the increasing of the pressure as well as the flow rate of
the water would make it possible to increase the power output.
Hypothetically, the output of the SGP-plant could easily be doubled.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Basics of salinity gradient power

Salinity gradient power is a specific renewable energy alternative
that creates renewable and sustainable power by using naturally
occurring processes.
This practice does not contaminate or release carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions (vapor pressure methods will release dissolved air
containing CO2 at low pressuresthese non-condensable gases can
be re-dissolved of course, but with an energy penalty).
Salinity gradient energy is based on using the resources of osmotic
pressure difference between fresh water and sea water.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Basics of salinity gradient power (contd.)
All energy that is proposed to use salinity gradient technology relies
on the evaporation to separate water from salt.

Osmotic pressure is the "chemical potential of concentrated and

dilute solutions of salt".When looking at relations between high
osmotic pressure and low, solutions with higher concentrations of
salt have higher pressure.
Salinity gradient energy is based on using the resources of osmotic
pressure difference between fresh water and sea water.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Basics of salinity gradient power (contd.)
All energy that is proposed to use salinity gradient technology relies
on the evaporation to separate water from salt.

Osmotic pressure is the "chemical potential of concentrated and

dilute solutions of salt".When looking at relations between high
osmotic pressure and low, solutions with higher concentrations of
salt have higher pressure.
Differing salinity gradient power generations exist but one of the
most commonly discussed is pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO).

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Statkraft Osmotic Power

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

"Statkraft says osmotic power would be especially suited for

generating electricity for large cities, situated where large rivers flow
into the sea and therefore not needing new transmission.
A commercial 25 megawatt plant would be the size of a football
field.
An osmotic plant could, however, have the same environmental
impact as a hydropower facility, so the right site is crucial.
"The new technology is based on the principle of osmosis, the
diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane, which is
how plants draw water from the soil.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Fresh water and salt water is guided into separate chambers,

divided by an artificial membrane.
When the fresh and seawater meet on either side of the
membrane, the fresh water is drawn towards the seawater.
The flow puts pressure on the seawater side, and that pressure can
be used to drive a turbine, producing electricity."

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Basics of salinity gradient power (contd.)
This method of generating power was invented by Prof. Sidney Loeb
in 1973 at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.
Within PRO, seawater is pumped into a pressure chamber where
the pressure is lower than the difference between fresh and salt
water pressure.
Fresh water moves in a semipermeable membrane and increases
its volume in the chamber.
As the pressure in the chamber is compensated a turbine spins to
generate electricity.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Basics of salinity gradient power (contd.)
In Braun's article he states that this process is easy to understand in
a more broken down manner.
Two solutions, A being salt water and B being fresh water are separated by
a membrane.
He states "only water molecules can pass the semipermeable membrane.
As a result of the osmotic pressure difference between both solutions, the
water from solution B thus will diffuse through the membrane in order to
dilute the solution".
The pressure drives the turbines and power the generator that produces
the electrical energy.

Osmosis might be used directly to "pump" fresh water out of The

Netherlands into the sea. This is currently done using electric
pumps.

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Electricity By Osmosis

II. OSMOTIC POWER (SALINITY GRADIENT POWER)

Electricity By Osmosis

III. TIDAL POWER

Tidal Power
The energy from moving masses of water a popular form of
hydroelectric power generation.

Tidal Power Generating Methods

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR

TIDAL BARRAGE
DYNAMIC TIDAL POWER

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR

Tidal stream generators (or TSGs) make use of the kinetic energy of
moving water to power turbines, in a similar way to wind turbines
that use wind to power turbines.
Some tidal generators can be built into the structures of existing
bridges, involving virtually no aesthetic problems.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR (CONTD.)

Tidal Stream is the name given to the horizontal flow of water

through the oceans caused by the continuous ebb and flood of the
tide, which as we know is the vertical up-down movement of the
oceans water.
Unlike water currents which are a continuous, unidirectional and
form a steady horizontal movement of water flowing down a river or
stream etc, a tidal stream or tidal current, changes its speed,
direction and horizontal movement regularly according to the forces
of the tide controlling it.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR (CONTD.)

Tidal stream generation is a non-barrage tidal scheme which

extracts the kinetic energy (energy in motion) from moving
water generated by the tides without altering the environment
thereby making it a Hydrokinetic Energy system.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR

The world's first commercial-scale and grid-connected tidal stream generator

SeaGen in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. The strong wake shows the
power in the tidal current.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR

TidalStream Deep Sea Generators

Pentland Firth, Scotland, UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-sFLGMSMac

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE

Tidal barrages make use of the potential energy in the difference in

height (or head) between high and low tides. When using tidal
barrages to generate power, the potential energy from a tide is
seized through strategic placement of specialized dams.
When the sea level rises and the tide begins to come in, the
temporary increase in tidal power is channeled into a large basin
behind the dam, holding a large amount of potential energy.
With the receding tide, this energy is then converted into
mechanical energy as the water is released through large turbines
that create electrical power though the use of generators

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE

The Rance Tidal Power Station, a tidal barrage in France

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE

Tidal barrages have a lot in common with dams for traditional hydro power, the
resource availability and patterns are the same as for tidal streams.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE
Ebb Generation
While the tide is rising, the reservoir behind the dam is filled with
water through open sluices.
The gate to the turbine is closed. When high tide is reached, the
sluices are shut.
Once sea level has receded to sufficiently low levels, the turbine
gate is opened and the water from the reservoir channeled onto
the turbine.
Due to low head (<10m), the turbine type is similar to a Kaplan
turbine

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE
Flood Generation
While the tide is rising, water flows through the turbine into the
reservoir, generating electricity during flood.
Less efficient than ebb generation.

Pumping
In combination with ebb generation, use surplus grid energy to
pump additional water into the reservoir, similar to hydro pump
storage.

III. TIDAL POWER

TIDAL BARRAGE

III. TIDAL POWER

DYNAMIC TIDAL POWER
Dynamic tidal power (or DTP) is an untried but promising technology
that would exploit an interaction between potential and kinetic
energies in tidal flows.
It proposes that very long dams (for example: 3050 km length) be
built from coasts straight out into the sea or ocean, without enclosing
an area.
Tidal phase differences are introduced across the dam, leading to a
significant water-level differential in shallow coastal seas featuring
strong coast-parallel oscillating tidal currents such as found in the UK,
China and Korea.

III. TIDAL POWER

DYNAMIC TIDAL POWER

Top-down view of a DTP dam. Blue and dark red colors indicate low and high tides,
respectively
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzm0zkxBNZw

IV. WAVE POWER

Wave Power
The power from surface waves.
Wave energy
It is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the
capture of that energy to do useful work for example, electricity
generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into
reservoirs).

Machinery able to exploit wave power is generally known as a

wave energy converter (WEC).

IV. WAVE POWER

Physical Concepts
Waves are generated by wind passing over the surface of the sea.
As long as the waves propagate slower than the wind speed just
above the waves, there is an energy transfer from the wind to the
waves.
Both air pressure differences between the upwind and the lee side
of a wave crest, as well as friction on the water surface by the wind,
making the water to go into the shear stress causes the growth of
the waves.

IV. WAVE POWER

Physical Concepts (contd.)

Wave height is determined by wind speed, the
duration of time the wind has been blowing, fetch
(the distance over which the wind excites the
waves) and by the depth and topography of the
seafloor (which can focus or disperse the energy
of the waves).

IV. WAVE POWER

Physical Concepts (contd.)

When an object bobs up and down on a

ripple in a pond, it experiences an elliptical
trajectory.

Motion of a particle in an ocean wave.

A = At deep water. The orbital motion of fluid particles
decreases rapidly with increasing depth below the surface.
B = At shallow water (ocean floor is now at B). The elliptical
movement of a fluid particle flattens with decreasing depth.
1 = Propagation direction.
2 = Wave crest.
3 = Wave trough

IV. WAVE POWER

Physical Concepts (contd.)
A given wind speed has a matching practical limit over which time or
distance will not produce larger waves.
When this limit has been reached the sea is said to be "fully
developed".
In general, larger waves are more powerful but wave power is also
determined by wave speed, wavelength, and water density.
Oscillatory motion is highest at the surface and diminishes
exponentially with depth.
However, for standing waves (clapotis) near a reflecting coast, wave
energy is also present as pressure oscillations at great depth,
producing microseisms.

IV. WAVE POWER

Physical Concepts (contd.)
These pressure fluctuations at greater depth are too small to be
interesting from the point of view of wave power.

The waves propagate on the ocean surface, and the wave energy is
also transported horizontally with the group velocity.
The mean transport rate of the wave energy through a vertical plane
of unit width, parallel to a wave crest, is called the wave energy flux
(or wave power, which must not be confused with the actual power
generated by a wave power device).

IV. WAVE POWER

Wave power formula
In deep water where the water depth is larger than half the wavelength, the wave
energy flux is

with: P the wave energy flux per unit of wave-crest length,

Hm0 the significant wave height,
T the wave period,
the water density and
g the acceleration by gravity.
The above formula states that wave power is proportional to the wave period and to the square of
the wave height. When the significant wave height is given in meters, and the wave period in
seconds, the result is the wave power in kilowatts (kW) per meter of wavefront length.

IV. WAVE POWER

Example Problem No. 1: Consider moderate ocean swells, in deep water, a few km off a coastline,
with a wave height of 3 m and a wave period of 8 seconds. Using the formula to solve for power,
we get

meaning there are 36 kilowatts of power potential per meter of wave crest.
In major storms, the largest waves offshore are about 15 meters high and have a period of about
15 seconds. According to the above formula, such waves carry about 1.7 MW of power across each
meter of wavefront.

An effective wave power device captures as much as possible of the wave energy flux. As a result
the waves will be of lower height in the region behind the wave power device.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the temperature difference
between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters
to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of
electricity.
However, the temperature differential is small and this impacts the
economic feasibility of ocean thermal energy for electricity
generation.
The most commonly used heat cycle for OTEC is the Rankine cycle
using a low-pressure turbine.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (contd.)
Systems may be either closed-cycle or open-cycle.
Closed-cycle engines use a working fluids that are typically
thought of as refrigerants such as ammonia or R-134a.
Open-cycle engines use vapour from the seawater itself as the
working fluid.
OTEC can also supply quantities of cold water as a by-product. This
can be used for air conditioning and refrigeration and the fertile
deep ocean water can feed biological technologies. Another byproduct is fresh water distilled from the sea.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

OTEC Diagram and Applications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQmfRNzLNQs

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

History
1880s, attempts to develop and refine OTEC statrted. Jacques Arsene
d'Arsonval, a French physicist, proposed tapping the thermal energy
of the ocean.
1930, D'Arsonval's student, Georges Claude, built the first OTEC
plant, in Matanzas, Cuba. The system generated 22 kW of electricity
with a low-pressure turbine.
In 1935, Claude constructed a plant aboard a 10,000-ton cargo vessel
moored off the coast of Brazil. Weather and waves destroyed it
before it could generate net power. (Net power is the amount of
power generated after subtracting power needed to run the system).

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

History (contd.)

In 1956, French scientists designed a 3 MW plant for Abidjan, Cte

d'Ivoire. The plant was never completed, because new finds of
large amounts of cheap petroleum made it uneconomical.
In 1962, J. Hilbert Anderson and James H. Anderson, Jr. focused on
increasing component efficiency. They patented their new "closed
cycle" design in 1967.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

History (contd.)
Beginning in 1970 the Tokyo Electric Power Company successfully
built and deployed a 100 kW closed-cycle OTEC plant on the island
of Nauru. The plant became operational on 14 October 1981,
producing about 120 kW of electricity; 90 kW was used to power
the plant and the remaining electricity was used to power a school
and other places. This set a world record for power output from an
OTEC system where the power was sent to a real power grid.
Currently, the Institute of Ocean Energy, Saga University, is the
leader and focuses on the power cycle and many of the secondary
benefits.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

History (contd.)
The United States became involved in
1974, establishing the Natural Energy
Laboratory of Hawaii Authority at
Keahole Point on the Kona coast of
Hawaii. Hawaii is the best US OTEC
location, due to its warm surface water,
access to very deep, very cold water,
and high electricity costs. The
laboratory has become a leading test
facility for OTEC technology.

View of a land based OTEC facility at Keahole

Point on the Kona coast of Hawaii (United States
Department of Energy)

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

History (contd.)

India built a one-MW floating OTEC pilot plant near Tamil

Nadu, and its government continues to sponsor research.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Thermodynamic efficiency
A heat engine gives greater efficiency when run with a large
temperature difference. In the oceans the temperature difference
between surface and deep water is greatest in the tropics, although
still a modest 20 to 25 C.
It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest
possibilities. OTEC has the potential to offer global amounts of
energy that are 10 to 100 times greater than other ocean energy
options such as wave power.
OTEC plants can operate continuously providing a base load supply
for an electrical power generation system.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Thermodynamic efficiency (contd.)
The main technical challenge of OTEC is to generate significant
amounts of power efficiently from small temperature
differences. It is still considered an emerging technology.
Early OTEC systems were 1 to 3 % thermally efficient, well
below the theoretical maximum 6 and 7 % for this temperature
difference.
Modern designs allow performance approaching the
theoretical maximum Carnot efficiency and the largest built in
1999 by the USA generated 250 kW.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Cycle types
Cold seawater is an integral part of each of the three types of OTEC
systems: closed-cycle, open-cycle, and hybrid.
To operate, the cold seawater must be brought to the surface. The
primary approaches are active pumping and desalination.
Desalinating seawater near the sea floor lowers its density, which
causes it to rise to the surface.
The alternative to costly pipes to bring condensing cold water to the
surface is to pump vaporized low boiling point fluid into the depths
to be condensed, thus reducing pumping volumes and reducing
technical and environmental problems and lowering costs.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Closed Cycle System
Closed-cycle systems use fluid with a low boiling point, such as
ammonia, to power a turbine to generate electricity.
Warm surface seawater is pumped through a heat exchanger to
vaporize the fluid. The expanding vapor turns the turbogenerator. Cold water, pumped through a second heat
exchanger, condenses the vapor into a liquid, which is then
recycled through the system.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Closed Cycle System (contd.)
In 1979, the Natural Energy Laboratory and several privatesector partners developed the "mini OTEC" experiment,
which achieved the first successful at-sea production of net
electrical power from closed-cycle OTEC. The mini OTEC
vessel was moored 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off the Hawaiian coast
and produced enough net electricity to illuminate the ship's
light bulbs and run its computers and television.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Diagram of a closed cycle OTEC plant

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Open Cycle System
Open-cycle OTEC uses warm surface water directly to make
electricity. Placing warm seawater in a low-pressure container
causes it to boil.

In some schemes, the expanding steam drives a low-pressure

turbine attached to an electrical generator. The steam, which has
left its salt and other contaminants in the low-pressure container, is
pure fresh water. It is condensed into a liquid by exposure to cold
temperatures from deep-ocean water. This method produces
desalinized fresh water, suitable for drinking water or irrigation.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Open Cycle System (contd.)
In other schemes, the rising steam is used in a gas lift technique
of lifting water to significant heights. Depending on the
embodiment, such steam lift pump techniques generate power
from a hydroelectric turbine either before or after the pump is
used.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Diagram of an open cycle OTEC plant

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Open Cycle System (contd.)
In 1984, the Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory) developed a vertical-spout evaporator
to convert warm seawater into low-pressure steam for open-cycle
plants. Conversion efficiencies were as high as 97% for seawater-tosteam conversion (overall efficiency using a vertical-spout evaporator
would still only be a few per cent).
In May 1993, an open-cycle OTEC plant at Keahole Point, Hawaii,
produced 50,000 watts of electricity during a net power-producing
experiment. This broke the record of 40 kW set by a Japanese system
in 1982.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Hybrid
A hybrid cycle combines the features of the closed- and open-cycle
systems.
In a hybrid, warm seawater enters a vacuum chamber and is flashevaporated, similar to the open-cycle evaporation process.
The steam vaporizes the ammonia working fluid of a closed-cycle
loop on the other side of an ammonia vaporizer.
The vaporized fluid then drives a turbine to produce electricity. The
steam condenses within the heat exchanger and provides
desalinated water.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Working Fluids
A popular choice of working fluid is ammonia, which has superior
transport properties, easy availability, and low cost. Ammonia,
however, is toxic and flammable.
Fluorinated carbons such as CFCs and HCFCs are not toxic or
flammable, but they contribute to ozone layer depletion.
Hydrocarbons too are good candidates, but they are highly
flammable; in addition, this would create competition for use of
them directly as fuels.

V. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Working Fluids (contd.)

The power plant size is dependent upon the vapor pressure of the
working fluid.
With increasing vapor pressure, the size of the turbine and heat
exchangers decreases while the wall thickness of the pipe and heat
exchangers increase to endure high pressure especially on the
evaporator side.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The long-term environmental impacts of commercialized ocean power
are as yet unknown.
Some concerns for potential impacts include interference with sea life
migrations, silt buildup and sediment deposits.
OTC also has a potential to affect the temperature of the water near a
power plant and, when desalinated water is a byproduct, to require
disposal of the removed salts.
Careful site selection along with rigorous monitoring will be necessary to
prove boosters claims of extreme environmental friendliness.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In the area of air quality, ocean power has less impact than most
other forms of electricity generation. Once the devices are in place,
they produce electricity without emissions.
Concerns about installation, electromagnetic fields, spinning
turbines, accidental leaks and changes in currents and waves, all of
these could alter migration paths, transform beaches and bays,
injure marine life, disturb the seabed and diminish food availability.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Impacts to aquatic ecosystems will occur during installation and
operation of OTC projects. Installation involves placement of the
generating units, mooring cables or anchors, and electrical transmission
cables to shore.
Possible operational environmental issues include alteration of river and
ocean currents and waves, alteration of bottom substrates and
sediment transport/deposition, impacts of noise and electromagnetic
fields, chemical toxicity, and interference with animal movements and
migrations.
Designs that incorporate moving rotors or structures (tidal stream and
river technologies, some wave technologies) pose the potential for
injury to aquatic organisms from strike or impingement.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Environmental evaluations are expected to focus primarily on impacts
from deployment of large numbers of units, as well as the cumulative
effects of developments when added to existing stresses on aquatic
systems.
For example, impacts to bottom habitats, hydrology, or underwater
noise levels that are minor for one or a few units may become
significant for large energy farms.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
OTC
Carbon dioxide dissolved in deep cold and high pressure layers is
brought up to the surface and released as the water warms.
Mixing of deep ocean water with shallower water brings up nutrients
and makes them available to shallow water life. This may be an
advantage for aquaculture of commercially important species, but
may also unbalance the ecological system around the power plant.
OTC technologies will include impacts more akin to those of steam
electric plants: alteration of water temperatures, entrainment, and
impingement.

OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY

Other Risks
Wave power projects can face public resistance to installing large
equipment along coastlines.
Equipment on the ocean floor can also interfere with sediment flow.
Thus far, even wave energy is not yet economically competitive. That
situation is likely to change over time, however, as research and
testing moves the technology forward.
The early risks of ocean technology are likely to be financial in nature,
with venture capital, corporate investment and government subsidies
riding on finding the right product to access the oceans energy.

REFERENCES
Textbooks

Renewable Energy Technologies, Jean-Claude Sabonnadiere, 2009

Energy Conversion, D. Yogi Goswami, Frank Kreith, 2008
Power Plant Engineering, 3rd Edition, PK Nag, 2008, Tata McGraw Hill

Web

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_energy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonne_of_oil_equivalent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2011/03/understanding-theeffects-of-oceantidalstream-power

Youtube Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x59MptHscxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfrWE61EeQY