Ocean Energy: The New Green Power

All sources of renewable energy obtained from the water are called ocean energy. Ocean technology is divided into wave, tidal, and ocean thermal. All sources of ocean energy are still in their early stages of commercialisation. Wave energy continues to be more expensive than other water technologies. The tidal range has been installed in areas with a strong tidal resource worldwide, while the tidal stream has been tested at a trial scale. The article provides a detailed study of ocean energy and its types, renewal, and geothermal energy. Let us start with ocean energy. 

Ocean Energy and its Types

Tidal Energy-Tidal energy plants, like conventional hydroelectric dams, are built on river estuaries and hold massive volumes of tidal water twice a day, then released to create electricity. India’s tidal energy potential is estimated to be 9,000 MW.

The movement of a device tethered to the ocean floor or floating on the water’s surface generates wave energy. Current Geothermal Energy is analogous to the wind that blows over the oceans. Underwater turbines, which are enormous propellers attached to the seabed, create power by moving with the marine currents.

Osmotic Energy is a process that uses the flow of water through a membrane between saltwater and freshwater reservoirs to generate Energy. Salinity Gradient Energy is another name for it.

How does it work? 

The Energy contained inside ocean waves (swells) is converted into electricity and used to produce wave energy. Various wave energy systems are being developed and tested to transform wave energy into electricity.

There are two types of tidal energy, both of which create electricity

• The potential Energy provided by the height difference between high and low tides is harvested by tidal range technology. Barrages (dams) collect tidal Energy from a variety of locations

• Technologies that capture the kinetic energy of currents moving in and out of tidal zones are known as tidal stream (or current) technologies (such as seashores). Similar to wind turbines, tidal stream devices are arranged in arrays

The temperature differential between the ocean’s surface water and deeper water is converted into Energy and used to create ocean thermal energy. Plants for ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) might be land-based, floating, or grazing.

Tidal streams are on the verge of becoming commercially viable

The gravitational forces between the Earth, the moon, and the sun cause tidal waves. Tidal currents are created by this relative motion and contain significant energy. Because the positions of the sun and moon can anticipate with such precision, the tide’s movement and stream speed predict.

Ocean currents: a renewable source of base-load electricity

Regional changes in temperature and salinity and the Coriolis effect caused by the Earth’s rotation cause ocean currents. Ocean currents may be found in open waters and run in the same direction with little variation. As a result, ocean current energy is a perfectly consistent and non-intermittent energy source.

Geothermal energy is heat within the world. The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and thermal (heat). Heat may be a renewable energy source because heat is continuously produced worldwide. People use geothermal energy heat for bathing, heating buildings, and getting electricity.

 The constant streams indicate that generating grid-scale renewable base-load electricity is feasible.

Given the magnitude of open ocean currents, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) believes that harnessing lower-velocity currents might project scale.

Important Characteristics

• Ocean energy sources are more predictable and reliable than wind energy. The never-ending flows provide a steady supply of goods in the future in geothermal Energy

• Global reach: Tidal streams and ocean currents may be found practically anywhere

• Moving water is more than 800 times denser than moving air, which doubles kinetic Energy by the same figure and allows massive quantities of energy to be released

• Land is a precious resource in many locations. Thus on-shore solutions must compete and can only go so far; however, ocean energies are given by the vast and deep seas, thereby ending the struggle

Objectives

• To increase and expedite assistance for the country’s resource evaluation and implementation of ocean energy

• To capture ocean energies for electricity generation and overcome the energy scarcity barrier

• More projects may be carried out in India now that this sector has been opened to the public and commercial sectors

• Stakeholders are requested to submit recommendations for industry-led research and development to solve challenges in Indian circumstances

Conclusion

To increase and expedite assistance for the country’s resource evaluation and implementation of ocean energy. Geothermal energy is a type of renewable energy taken from the Earth’s core To capture ocean energies for electricity generation and overcome the energy scarcity barrier. Stakeholders are requested to submit recommendations for industry-led research and development to solve challenges in Indian circumstances. In addition to the previously described advantages of tidal and ocean currents, the latter’s properties provide additional benefits, such as high load factors. Because ocean currents are continuous, 70 to 95 per cent capacity factors may be achieved, doubling energy production per installed megawatt and lowering energy costs.