Tidal power potential in USA

Recently I have written about the wave & tidal potential resource in UK. It's time to show a new mapping tool for the tidal power potential in USA.

This interactive and web-based GIS system has been created by the Georgia Tech University based on a database-driven mapping tool. You can check their "Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States"

Check the tidal power potential map in USA

This group from GTU has pointed several clues about tidal energy:

• It can be harnessed wherever there is moving water in significant volumes.


• Tidal stream is deterministic and and the energy production can be forecasted accuratly.


• This predictibility eases the installation, operation and maintenance.


• There are a lot of hot spots: Knik Arm, AK; Tacoma Narrows, WA; Golden Gate, CA; Muskeget Channel, MA; Western Passage, ME, Puget Sound, New York, Connecticut, Cook Inlet, Southeast Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands among others.


• Besides large scale power production, it can be useful as local and reliable energy source for remote and dispersed coastal communities and islands.

Criterias to be taken into account when you are involved in the process of selection of location:

1. Tidal current velocity: the speed and volume of water passing through the site in space and time.


2. Site characteristics:  bathymetry, water depth, geology of the seabed and environmental impacts will determine the deployment method needed and the cost of installation.


3. Electrical grid connection: the seafloor cable distance from the proposed site to a grid access point will help determine the viability of an installation.

UK has no doubts they should develop this industry in order to become leading exporter of wave and tidal power. As the team behind the map has written: "Tidal energy is one of the fastest growing emerging technologies in the renewable sector and is set to make a major contribution to carbon free energy generation."

What will USA do with this tidal potential?

Tidal resource in UK

Yesterday we published "wave resource in UK" so now it's the chance for tidal power.

Former DTI [currently DECC] estimated an available huge potential of 3000GW of tidal energy but, unfortunately, less than 3% is located in areas suitable for power generation. There are a lot of factors and inputs to be considered in the estimation of the tidal current potential as it is very site depending [seabed, bathymetrics, estuaries, etc.]

Note: There is a great paper from Stephen Salter: "Correcting the Under-estimate of the Tidal-Stream Resource of the Pentland Firth"

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  online interactive webGIS version of the UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources Atlas

  
  


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  Tide resource map

  
  

In 2001, a list with 42 sites around the UK suitable for tidal stream generation was launched and just the ten most promising tidal stream sites could offer a potential of 36 TWh/y, which means at least 34% of the UK's electricity demand.



Tidal power has the distinct advantage of being highly predictable compared with some other forms of renewable energy. The regularity of the tides, along with the huge energy potential, therefore helps to make tidal energy development an attractive resource option.

Image: Average Annual Tidal Power Crown ©2004

Intermitencia de renovables

Interesante artículo escrito por James Tipping y Duncan Sinclair: "Marine energy can balance intermittency of renewables". Es una entrada un tanto antigua pero muy actual por el debate no cerrado sobre las interferencias en el sistema eléctrico generado por las intermitencias de las energías renovables, principalmente en UK.

El motivo de este debate estriba en a medida que aumenta la aportación de las energías renovables, su variabilidad en producción, basada principalmente en energía eólica y solar, tiene un impacto significativo en la garantía de suministro y, por tanto, en el mercado eléctrico. Los autores basan su defensa en los enormes beneficios que genera la diversificación de un mix y la importancia de la energía de las olas en "garantizar la estabilidad" de la producción eólica dado que puede prever su producción. Desafortunadamente, no han contemplado la energía de las mareas como posibilidad, quizá porque su estadio de desarrollo todavía es demasiado incipiente.

Interesantes conclusiones como que un mix diversificado con mayor penetración de renovables podría reducir más de un 3% el coste de la electricidad. Incluso comentan que los ahorros podrían ser superiores con la implementación de un correcta gestión de las redes y gestionando la demanda ( parte de las redes inteligentes)

Aunque su conclusión final es que las tecnologías marinas pueden complementar a la eólica, aumentando la efectividad y permitiendo una expansión del conjunto de todas las renovables en el mix de generación eléctrica.