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Renewable ocean energy
The oceans remain a vast and largely untapped source of renewable dikes in the form of fluid flow (currents, waves, and tides) and thermal and salinity gradients. Several means of extracting energy from the ocean have been tried. Some are currently in deployment stage.
- Marine current power
- Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)
- Salinity gradient power
- Tidal power
- Wave power
Sometimes Wind power (offshore) is also included in the list of renewable ocean energies.
Theoretical potential of renewable ocean energy
The theoretical global ocean energy resource is estimated2 to be on the order of:
- 2.000 TWh/year for osmotic energy
- 10.000 TWh/year for ocean thermal energy (OTEC)
- 800 TWh/year for tidal current energy
- 8.000 – 80.000 TWh/year for wave energy
This theoretical potential is several times greater than the actual global electricity demand, and equivalent to 4000 – 18000 MToE MToE (million tons of oil equivalent).
Non-renewable ocean energy
Petroleum and natural gas beneath the ocean floor are increasingly important sources of energy. An ocean engineer directs all phases of discovering, extracting, and delivering offshore petroleum (via oil tankers and pipelines), a complex and demanding task. Also centrally important is the development of new methods to protect marine wildlife and coastal regions against the undesirable side effects of offshore oil extraction.
References
See also
- Energy harvesting
- International Electrotechnical Commission
- Ocean Engineering
- Renewable energy commercialization
- European Ocean Energy Association
External links
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