Marine Energy

Marine energy will assist in reducing carbon emissions worldwide. The

large-scale development of marine energy projects will have uncertain
environmental impacts, most of which have not been adequately
evaluated. The ecological effects of the marine energy, such as wave,
tidal, ocean current, and thermal gradient, mainly cause habitat and
community changes. This necessitates renewable energy developers,
regulators, scientists, engineers, and ocean stakeholders to work
together to achieve the common dual objectives of clean renewable
energy and a healthy marine environment (George and Andrew,
2015).
In general, careful site selection is the key to keeping the
environmental impacts of wave power systems to a minimum. Wave
energy system planners can choose sites that preserve scenic
shorefronts. They also can avoid areas where wave energy systems
can significantly alter flow patterns of sediment on the ocean floor.
Economically, wave power systems have a hard time competing with
traditional power sources. However, the costs of producing wave
energy are falling. Some European experts predict that wave power
devices will find lucrative niche markets. Once built, they will have low
operation and maintenance costs because the fuel they use
(seawater) is free (U.S. Department of Energy [DOE], 2011a).
An Irish wave energy developer is working with Cornwall's Wave Hub
with a view to deploying the scheme's first device. Tidal power plants
that dam estuaries can impede sea life migration, and silt buildups
behind such facilities can affect local ecosystems. Tidal fences may
also disturb sea life migration. Newly developed tidal turbines may
prove ultimately to be the least environmentally damaging of the tidal
power technologies because they do not block migratory paths. It
does not cost much to operate tidal power plants, but their
construction costs are high and lengthen payback periods. As a result,
the cost per kilowatt-hour of tidal power is not competitive with
conventional fossil fuel power. OTEC power plants require substantial
capital investment upfront. OTEC researchers believe private sector
firms probably will be unwilling to make the enormous initial
investment required to build large-scale plants until the price of fossil
fuels dramatically increases or national governments provide financial
incentives. Another factor hindering the commercialization of OTEC is
that there are only a few hundred land-based sites in the tropics where
DOW is close enough to shore to make OTEC plants feasible (U.S.
DOE, 2011b).