A comprehensive text covering all aspects of wave and tidal energy Wave and Tidal Energy provides a comprehensive and self-contained review of the developing marine renewable energy sector, drawing from the latest research and from the experience of device testing. The book has a twofold objective: to provide an overview of wave and tidal energy suitable for newcomers to the field and to serve as a reference text for advanced study and practice. Including detail on key issues such as resource characterisation, wave and tidal technology, power systems, numerical and physical modelling, environmental impact and policy. The book also includes an up-to-date review of developments worldwide and case studies of selected projects. Key features: A comprehensive and self-contained text covering all aspects of the multidisciplinary fields of wave and tidal energy. Draws upon the latest research in wave and tidal energy and the experience of leading practitioners in numerical and laboratory modelling. Regional developments worldwide are reviewed and representative projects are presented as case studies. Wave and Tidal Energy is an invaluable resource to a wide range of readers, from engineering students to technical managers and policymakers to postgraduate students and researchers.

The worldwide potential of electric power generation from marine tidal currents, waves, or offshore winds is enormous. The high load factor resulting from the fluid properties and the predictable resource characteristics make tidal and wave energy resources attractive and advantageous for power generation and advantageous when compared to other renewable energies. The technologies are just beginning to reach technical and economic viability to make them potential commercial power sources in the near future. While only a few small projects currently exist, the technology is advancing rapidly and has huge potential for generating bulk power. Moreover, international treaties related to climate control and dwindling fossil fuel resources have encouraged us to harness energy sustainably from such marine renewable sources. Several demonstrative projects have been scheduled to capture tidal and wave energies. A number of these projects have now reached a relatively mature stage and are close to completion. However, very little is known to the academic world about these technologies beyond the basics of their energy conversion principles. While research emphasis is more towards hydrodynamics and turbine design, very limited activities are witnessed in power conversion interface, control, and power quality aspects. Regarding this emerging and promising area of research, this book aims to present recent results, serving to promote successful marine renewable energies integration to the grid or to standalone microgrids.

Engineers’ dreams and fossil energy replacement schemes can come true. Man has been tapping the energy of the sea to provide power for his industries for centuries. Tidal energy combined with that of waves and marine winds rank among those most successfully put the work. Large scale plants are capital intensive but smaller ones, particularly built in China, have proven profitable. Since the initiation of the St Malo project in France, similar projects have gone into active service where methods have been devised to cut down on costs, new types of turbines developed and cost competitiveness considerably improved. Tidal power has enormous potential. The book reviews recent progress in extracting power from the ocean, surveys the history of tidal power harnessing and updates a prior publication by the author.

A comprehensive text covering all aspects of wave and tidal energy Wave and Tidal Energy provides a comprehensive and self-contained review of the developing marine renewable energy sector, drawing from the latest research and from the experience of device testing. The book has a twofold objective: to provide an overview of wave and tidal energy suitable for newcomers to the field and to serve as a reference text for advanced study and practice. Including detail on key issues such as resource characterisation, wave and tidal technology, power systems, numerical and physical modelling, environmental impact and policy. The book also includes an up-to-date review of developments worldwide and case studies of selected projects. Key features: A comprehensive and self-contained text covering all aspects of the multidisciplinary fields of wave and tidal energy. Draws upon the latest research in wave and tidal energy and the experience of leading practitioners in numerical and laboratory modelling. Regional developments worldwide are reviewed and representative projects are presented as case studies. Wave and Tidal Energy is an invaluable resource to a wide range of readers, from engineering students to technical managers and policymakers to postgraduate students and researchers.

Photographs, illustrations, and text introduce readers to energy conservation and the power of water as an energy source.

Covering technology, modeling, field experience, installation and grid connection, this text offers a high-level technical overview of ocean renewable energy generation. It examines wave, tidal, current, salinity, and thermal energy generation and includes the novel technology of marine solar arrays.

Energy from wave and tidal power is a key component of current policies for renewable sources of energy. This book provides the first comprehensive exploration of legal, economic, and social issues related to the emerging ocean energy industry, in particular wave and tidal energy technologies. This industry is rapidly developing, and considerable technical literature has developed around the technology. However, it is shown that challenges relating to regulation and policy are major impediments to industry development, and these aspects have not previously been sufficiently highlighted and studied. The book informs policymakers, industry participants, and researchers of the key issues in this developing field. Ocean energy is considered in the context of the blue economy and an industrialising ocean, and the topics covered include: development of policy (policy instruments, risk and delay in technology development); legal aspects (consenting processes, resource management, impact assessment); human interactions (conflicts, consultation, community benefits); and spatial planning of the marine environment. While offshore wind energy, sited in the oceans but not strictly derived from the ocean, is not the primary focus of the book, there is also discussion of the similarities and differences between offshore wind and wave and tidal power policy dimensions.