An Introduction to

Wave and Tidal Energy

Renewable Energy in (and above) the Oceans

Frank R. Leslie,
BSEE, MS Space Technology
5/25/2002, Rev. 1.7
f.leslie@ieee.org; (321) 768-6629

“It is pleasant, when the sea is high

and the winds are dashing the waves about,
to watch from shore the struggles of another.”
Lucretius, 99-55 B.C.
 Overview of Ocean Energy
 Ocean energy is replenished by the sun and through
tidal influences of the moon and sun gravitational forces
 Near-surface winds induce wave action and cause wind-
blown currents at about 3% of the wind speed
 Tides cause strong currents into and out of coastal
basins and rivers
 Ocean surface heating by some 70% of the incoming
sunlight adds to the surface water thermal energy,
causing expansion and flow
 Wind energy is stronger over the ocean due to less drag,
although technically, only seabreezes are from ocean
energy
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 What’s renewable energy?
 Renewable energy systems transform incoming solar energy and
its alternate forms (wind and river flow, etc.), usually without
pollution-causing combustion
 This energy is “renewed” by the sun and is “sustainable”
 Renewable energy is sustainable indefinitely, unlike long-stored,
depleting energy from fossil fuels
 Renewable energy from wind, solar, and water power emits no
pollution or carbon dioxide
 Renewable energy is “nonpolluting” since no combustion occurs
(although the building of the components does in making steel, etc.,
for conversion machines does pollute during manufacture)

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 Renewable Energy (Continued)
 Fuel combustion produces “greenhouse gases” that are believed to
lead to climate change (global warming), thus combustion of
biomass is not as desirable as other forms
 Biomass combustion is also renewable, but emits CO2 and
pollutants
 Biomass can be heated with water under pressure to create
synthetic fuel gas; but burning biomass creates pollution and
CO2
 Nonrenewable energy comes from fossil fuels and nuclear
radioactivity (process of fossilization still occurring but trivial)
 Nuclear energy is not renewable, but sometimes is treated as
though it were because of the long depletion period

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 The eventual decline
of fossil fuels

 Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured

in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage
thus exceeds the rate of original production
 Coal may last 250 to 400 years; estimates vary greatly;
not as useful for transportation due to losses in converting
to liquid “synfuel”
 We can conserve energy by reducing loads and through
increased efficiency in generating, transmitting, and using
energy
 Efficiency and conservation will delay an energy crisis,
but will not prevent it
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 Available Energy
 Potential Energy: PE = mh
 Kinetic Energy: KE = ½ mv2 or ½ mu2
 Wave energy is proportional to wave length times wave height
squared (LH2)per wave length per unit of crest length
 A four-foot (1.2 m), ten-second wave striking a coast expends
more than 35, 000 HP per mile of coast [Kotch, p. 247]
 Maximum Tidal Energy, E = 2HQ x 353/(778 x 3413)
= 266 x 10-6 HQ kWh/yr, where H is the tidal range (ft)
and Q is the tidal flow (lbs of seawater)
 E = 2 HQ ft-lb/lunar day (2 tides)
or E = 416 x 10-4 HV kWh, where V is cubic feet of flow

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 Economics
 Cost of installation, operation, removal and restoration
 Compare cost/watt & cost/watt-hour vs. other sources
 Relative total costs compared to other sources
 Externality costs aren’t included in most assessments
 Cost of money (inflation) must be included (2 to 5%/year)
 Life of energy plant varies and treated as linear depreciation to zero
 Tax incentives or credits offset the hidden subsidies to fossil fuel
and nuclear industry
 Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) require early funding to
justify permitting

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 Ocean Energy
 The tidal forces and thermal storage of the ocean provide a major
energy source
 Wave action adds to the extractable surface energy
 Major ocean currents (like the Gulf Stream) may be exploited to
extract energy with underwater rotors (turbines)
 The oceans are the World’s largest solar collectors (71% of
surface)
 Thermal differences between surface and deep waters can drive
heat engines
 Over or in proximity to the ocean surface, the wind moves at higher
speeds over water than over land roughness

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 Wave Energy

 Energy of interchanging potential and kinetic energy in

the wave
 Cycloidal motion of wave particles carries energy
forward without much current
 Typical periodicities are one to thirty seconds, thus there
are low-energy periods between high-energy points
 In 1799, Girard & son of Paris proposed using wave
power for powering pumps and saws
 California coast could generate 7 to 17 MW per mile
[Smith, p. 91]

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 Ocean Energy: Wave Energy

 Wave energy potential varies greatly worldwide

Figures in kW/m
Source: Wave Energy paper. IMechE, 1991 and
European Directory of Renewable Energy (Suppliers and Services) 1991
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 Concepts of Wave Energy
Conversion

 Change of water level by tide or wave can move or raise

a float, producing linear motion from sinusoidal motion
 Water current can turn a turbine to yield rotational
mechanical energy to drive a pump or generator
 Slow rotation speed of approximately one revolution per second
to one revolution per minute less likely to harm marine life
 Turbine reduces energy downstream and could protect
shoreline
 Archimedes Wave Swing is a Dutch device [Smith, p.
91]

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 Salter “Ducks”
 Scottish physicist Prof. Stephen
Salter invented “Nodding Duck”
energy converter in 1970
 Salter “ducks” rock up and down as
the wave passes beneath it. This
oscillating mechanical energy is
converted to electrical energy
 Destroyed by storm
 A floating two-tank version drives
hydraulic rams that send pressurized
oil to a hydraulic motor that drives a
generator, and a cable conducts
electricity to shore
Ref.: www.fujita.com/archive-frr/ TidalPower.html
©1996 Ramage
http://acre.murdoch.edu.au/ago/ocean/wave.html
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 Fluid-Driven Wave Turbines
 Waves can be funneled and channeled into a rising chute to charge
a reservoir over a weir or through a swing-gate
 Water passes through waterwheel or turbine back to the ocean
 Algerian V-channel [Kotch, p.228]
 Wave forces require an extremely strong structure and mechanism
to preclude damage
 The Ocean Power Delivery wave energy converter Pelamis has
articulated sections that stream from an anchor towards the shore
 Waves passing overhead produce hydraulic pressure in rams
between sections
 This pressure drives hydraulic motors that spin generators, and
power is conducted to shore by cable
 750 kW produced by a group 150m long and 3.5m diameter
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 Fluid-Driven Wave Turbines

 Davis Hydraulic Turbines since 1981

 Most tests done in Canada
 4 kW turbine tested in Gulf Stream
 Blue Energy of Canada developing two 250 kW turbines
for British Columbia
 Also proposed Brothers Island tidal fence in San
Francisco Bay, California 1000 ft long by 80 ft deep to
produce 15 – 25 MW
 Australian Port Kembla (south of Sydney) to produce 500
kW

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 Air-Driven Wave Turbines (Con’t)

 A floating buoy can compress trapped air similar to a

whistle buoy
 The oscillating water column (OWC) in a long pipe under
the buoy will lag behind the buoy motion due to inertia of
the water column
 The compressed air spins a turbine/alternator to
generate electricity at $0.09/kWh

The Japanese “Mighty Whale” has an air channel to

capture wave energy. Width is 30m and length is 50 m.
There are two 30 kW and one50 kW turbine/generators
http://www.earthsci.org/esa/energy/wavpwr/wavepwr.html
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 Air-Driven Wave Turbines
 British invention uses an air-driven Wells turbine with symmetrical
blades
 Incoming waves pressurize air within a heavy concrete box, and
trapped air rushes upward through pipe connecting the turbine
 A Wavegen™, wave-driven, air compressor or oscillating water
column (OWC) spins a two-way Wells turbine to produce electricity
 Wells turbine is spun to starting speed by external electrical power
and spins the same direction regardless of air flow direction
 Energy estimated at 65 megawatts per mile

Photo by Wavegen

http://www.bfi.org/Trimtab/summer01/oceanWave.htm 2.2.2.2 020402

 Ocean Energy: Tidal Energy
 Tides are produced by gravitational forces of the moon
and sun and the Earth’s rotation
 Existing and possible sites:
 France: 1966 La Rance river estuary 240 MW station
 Tidal ranges of 8.5 m to 13.5 m; 10 reversible turbines

 England: Severn River

 Canada: Passamaquoddy in the Bay of Fundy (1935
attempt failed)
 California: high potential along the northern coast
 Environmental, economic, and esthetic aspects have
delayed implementation
 Power is asynchronous with load cycle
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 Tidal Energy
 Tidal mills were used in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries in
England, France, and elsewhere
 Millpond water was trapped at high tide by a gate (Difficult working
hours for the miller; Why?)
 Rhode Island, USA, 18th Century, 20-ton wheel 11 ft in diameter and 26
ft wide
 Hamburg, Germany, 1880 “mill” pumped sewage
 Slade’s Mill in Chelsea, MA founded 1734, 100HP, operated until
~1980
 Deben estuary, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England has been operating since
1170 (reminiscent of “the old family axe”; only had three new handles
and two new heads!)
 Tidal mills were common in USA north of Cape Cod, where a 3 m range
exists [Redfield, 1980]
 Brooklyn NY had tidal mill in 1636 [?]

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 Tidal Energy (continued)

 Potential energy = S integral from 0 to 2H (ρgz dz),

where S is basin area, H is tidal amplitude, ρ is water density,
and g is gravitational constant
yielding 2 S ρ gH2
 Mean power is 2 S ρ gH2/tidal period; semidiurnal better
 Tidal Pool Arrangements
 Single-pool empties on ebb tide
 Single-pool fills on flood tide
 Single-pool fills and empties through turbine
 Two-pool ebb- and flood-tide system; two ebbs per day;
alternating pool use
 Two-pool one-way system (high and low pools) (turbine located
between pools)

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 Tidal Water Turbines

 Current flow converted to rotary motion by tidal current

 Turbines placed across Rance River, France
 Large Savonius rotors (J. S. Savonius, 1932?) placed
across channel to rotate at slow speed but creating high
torque (large current meter)
 Horizontal rotors proposed for Gulf Stream placement
off Miami, Florida

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 Tidal Flow: Rance River, France

 240 MW plant with 24, 10 MW turbines operated since 1966

 Average head is 28 ft
 Area is approximately 8.5 square miles
 Flow approx, 6.64 billion cubic feet
 Maximum theoretical energy is 7734 million kWh/year; 6% extracted
 Storage pumping contributes 1.7% to energy level
 At neap tides, generates 80,000 kWh/day; at equinoctial spring tide,
1,450,000 kWh/day (18:1 ratio!); average ~500 million kWh/year
 Produces electricity cheaper than oil, coal, or nuclear plants in
France

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 Tidal Flow: Passamaquoddy, Lower
Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

 Proposed to be located between Maine (USA) and New Brunswick

 Average head is 18.1 ft
 Flow is approximately 70 billion cubic feet per tidal cycle
 Area is approximately 142 square miles
 About 3.5 % of theoretical maximum would be extracted
 Two-pool approach greatly lower maximum theoretical energy
 International Commission studied it 1956 through 1961 and found
project uneconomic then
 Deferred until economic conditions change

[Ref.: Harder]
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 Other Tidal Flow Plants under
Study

 Annapolis River, Nova Scotia: straight-flow turbines; demonstration

plant was to be completed in 1983; 20 MW; tides 29 to 15 feet;
Tidal Power Corp.; ~$74M
 Experimental site at Kislaya Guba on Barents Sea
 French 400 kW unit operated since 1968
 Plant floated into place and sunk: dikes added to close gaps
 Sea of Okhotsk (former Sov. Union) under study in 1980
 White Sea, Russia: 1 MW, 1969
 Murmansk, Russia: 0.4 MW
 Kiansghsia in China

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 Other Tidal Flow Plants under
Study (continued)
 Severn River, Great Britain: range of 47 feet (14.5 m)
calculated output of 2.4 MWh annually. Proposed at
$15B, but not economic.
 Chansey Islands:20 miles off Saint Malo, France; 34
billion kWh per year; not economic; environmental
problems; project shelved in 1980
 San Jose, Argentina: potential of 75 billion kWh/year;
tidal range of 20 feet (6m)
 China built several plants in the 1950s
 Korean potential sites (Garolim Bay)

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 Hydraulic Pressure Absorbers

 Large synthetic rubber bags filled with water could be

placed offshore where large waves pass overhead
 Also respond to tides
 A connecting pipe conducts hydraulic pressure to a
positive displacement motor that spins a generator
 The motor can turn a generator to make electricity
that varies sinusoidally with the pressure

http://www.bfi.org/Trimtab/summer01/oceanWave.htm

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 Ocean Thermal Energy:
OTEC (Ocean Thermal Electric Conversion)

 French Physicist Jacque D’Arsonval proposed in 1881

 Georges Claude built Matanzos Bay, Cuba 22 kW plant in 1930 [Smith, p.94]
 Keahole Point, Hawaii has the US 50 kW research OTEC barge system
 OTEC requires some 36 to 40°F temperature difference between the surface and
deep waters to extract energy
 Open-cycle plants vaporize warm water and condense it using the cold sea water,
yielding potable water and electricity from turbines-driven alternators
 Closed-cycle units evaporate ammonia at 78°F to drive a turbine and an alternator

 Hybrid cycle uses open-cycle steam to vaporize

closed-cycle ammonia
 China also has experimented with OTEC

Ref.: http://www.nrel.gov/otec/achievements.html
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 Wind Energy Equations
(also applies to water turbines)

 Assume a “tube” of air the diameter, D, of the rotor

 A = π D2/4
 A length, L, of air moves through the turbine in t seconds
 L = u·t, where u is the wind speed
 The tube volume is V = A·L = A·u·t
 Air density, ρ, is 1.225 kg/m3 (water density ~1000
kg/m3)
 Mass, m = ρ·V = ρ·A·u·t, where V is volume
 Kinetic energy = KE = ½ mu2

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 Wind Energy Equations
(continued)

 Substituting ρ·A·u·t for mass, and

A = π D2/4 , KE = ½·π/4·ρ·D2·u3·t
 Theoretical power, Pt = ½·π/4·ρ·D2·u3·t/t = 0.3927·ρa·D2·u3,
ρ (rho) is the density, D is the diameter swept by the rotor blades, and u is the speed
parallel to the rotor axis
 Betz Law shows 59.3% of power can be extracted
 Pe = Pt·59.3%·ήr·ήt·ήg, where Pe is the extracted power, ήr is rotor
efficiency, ήt is transmission efficiency, and ήg is generator
efficiency
 For example, 59.3%·90%·98%·80% = 42% extraction of theoretical
power

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Generic Trades in Energy
 Energy trade-offs required to
make rational decisions
 PV is expensive ($4 to 5 per Ref.: www.freefoto.com/
pictures/general/
watt for hardware + $5 per watt windfarm/index.asp?i=2

for shipping and installation =

$10 per watt)
compared to wind energy
($1.5 per watt for hardware Ref.:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/
+ $5 per watt for education/story/story-
images/solar.jpeg
installation = $6 per watt
total)
 Are Compact Fluorescent Photo of
Lamps (CFLs) always better FPL’s
Cape
to use than incandescent? Canaveral
Plant by
F. Leslie,
2001
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 Energy Storage

 Renewable energy is often intermittent, and storage

allows alignment with time of use.
 Compressed air, flywheels, weight-shifting (pumped
water storage at Niagara Falls)
 Batteries are traditional for small systems and electric
vehicles; first cars (1908) were electric
 Hydrogen can be made by electrolysis
 Energy is best stored as a financial credit
through “net metering”
 Net metering requires a utility to bill at the
same rate for buying or selling energy

www.strawbilt.org/systems/ details.solar_electric.html
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 Energy
Transmission
 Electricity and hydrogen are energy carriers, not natural fuels
 Electric transmission lines lose energy in heat (~2% to 5%); trades
loss vs. cost
 Line flow directional analysis can show where new energy plants are
required to reduce energy transmission
 Hydrogen is made by electrolysis of water, cracking of natural gas,
or from bacterial action (lab experiment level)
 Oil and gas pipelines carry storable energy
 Pipelines (36” or larger) can transport hydrogen without appreciable
energy loss due to low density and viscosity
 More efficient than 500 kV transmission line and is out of view

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 Legal aspects and other
complications
 PURPA: Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978. Utility
purchase from and sale of power to qualified facilities; avoided
costs offsetting basis of purchases
 Energy Policy Act of 1992 leads to deregulation
 “NIMBYs” rally to shrilly insist “Not In My Backyard”!
 Investment taxes and subsidies favor fossil and nuclear power
 High initial cost dissuades potential users; future is uncertain
 Lack of uniform state-level net metering hinders offsetting costs
 Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) require extensive and
expensive research and trade studies
 Numerous “public interest” advocacy groups are well-funded and
ready to sue to stop projects

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 Conclusion
 Renewable energy offers a long-
term approach to the World’s
energy needs
 Economics drives the energy
selection process and short-term
(first cost) thinking leads to
disregard of long-term, overall
cost
 Wave and tidal energy are more
expensive than wind and solar
energy, the present leaders
 Increasing oil, gas, and coal
prices will ensure that the
transition to renewable energy
occurs
 Offshore and shoreline wind
energy plants offer a logical
approach to part of future energy
supplies
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 References: Books, etc.
 General:
 Sørensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000, 911 pp. ISBN 0-12-
656152-4.
 Henry, J. Glenn and Gary W. Heinke. Environmental Science and Engineering. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall,
728pp., 1989. 0-13-283177-5, TD146.H45, 620.8-dc19
 Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1992. 0-262-02349-0, TJ807.9.U6B76,
333.79’4’0973.
 Di Lavore, Philip. Energy: Insights from Physics. NY: John Wiley & Sons, 414pp., 1984. 0-471-89683-7l,
TJ163.2.D54, 621.042.
 Bowditch, Nathaniel. American Practical Navigator. Washington:USGPO, H.O. Pub. No. 9.
 Harder, Edwin L. Fundamentals of Energy Production. NY: John Wiley & Sons, 368pp., 1982. 0-471-08356-9,
TJ163.9.H37, 333.79. Tidal Energy, pp. 111-129.
 Wind:
 Patel, Mukund R. Wind and Solar Power Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1999, 351 pp. ISBN 0-8493-1605-7,
TK1541.P38 1999, 621.31’2136
 Gipe, Paul. Wind Energy for Home & Business. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., 1993. 0-
930031-64-4, TJ820.G57, 621.4’5
 Johnson, Gary L, Wind Energy Systems. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. TK 1541.J64 1985. 621.4’5; 0-13-
957754-8.
 Waves:
 Smith, Douglas J. “Big Plans for Ocean Power Hinges on Funding and Additional R&D”. Power Engineering, Nov. 2001,
p. 91.
 Kotch, William J., Rear Admiral, USN, Retired. Weather for the Mariner. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1983. 551.5,
QC994.K64, Chap. 11, Wind, Waves, and Swell.
 Solar:
 Duffie, John and William A. Beckman. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 920
pp., 1991.

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 References: Internet
 General:
 http://www.google.com/search?q=%22renewable+energy+course%22
 http://www.ferc.gov/ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
 http://solstice.crest.org/
 http://dataweb.usbr.gov/html/powerplant_selection.html
 http://mailto:energyresources@egroups.com
 http://www.dieoff.org. Site devoted to the decline of energy and effects upon population

 Tidal:
 http://www.unep.or.kr/energy/ocean/oc_intro.htm
 http://www.bluenergy.com/technology/prototypes.html
 http://www.iclei.org/efacts/tidal.htm
 http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1996/ph162/l17b.html

 Waves:
 http://www.env.qld.gov.au/sustainable_energy/publicat/ocean.htm
 http://www.bfi.org/Trimtab/summer01/oceanWave.htm
 http://www.oceanpd.com/
 http://www.newenergy.org.cn/english/ocean/overview/status.htm
 http://www.energy.org.uk/EFWave.htm
 http://www.earthsci.org/esa/energy/wavpwr/wavepwr.html

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 References: Internet

 Thermal:
 http://www.nrel.gov/otec/what.html
 http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/otec_hi.html#anchor349152 on OTEC systems
 Wind:
 http://awea-windnet@yahoogroups.com. Wind Energy elist
 http://awea-wind-home@yahoogroups.com. Wind energy home powersite elist
 http://telosnet.com/wind/20th.html

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 Units and Constants
 Units:
 Power in watts (joules/second)
 Energy (power x time) in watt-hours
 Constants:
 1 m = 0.3048 ft exactly by definition
 1 mile = 1.609 km; 1m/s = 2.204 mi/h (mph)
 1 mile2 = 27878400 ft2 = 2589988.11 m2
 1 ft2 = 0.09290304 m2; 1 m2 = 10.76391042 ft2
 1 ft3 = 28.32 L = 7.34 gallon = 0.02832 m 3; 1 m3 = 264.17 US gallons
 1 m3/s = 15850.32 US gallons/minute
 g = 32.2 ft/s2 = 9.81 m/s2; 1 kg = 2.2 pounds
 Air density, ρ (rho), is 1.225 kg/m3 or 0.0158 pounds/ft3 at 20ºC at sea level
 Solar Constant: 1368 W/m2 exoatmospheric or 342 W/m2 surface (80 to 240
W/m2)
 1 HP = 550 ft-lbs/s = 42.42 BTU/min = = 746 W (J/s)
 1 BTU = 252 cal = 0.293 Wh = 1.055 kJ
 1 atmosphere = 14.696 psi = 33.9 ft water = 101.325 kPa = 76 cm Hg =1013.25
mbar
 1 boe (42- gallon barrel of oil equivalent) = 1700 kWh
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 Energy Equations
 Electricity:
 E=IR; P=I2 R; P=E2/R, where R is resistance in ohms, E is volts,
I is current in amperes, and P is power in watts
 Energy = P t, where t is time in hours
 Turbines:
 Pa = ½ ρ A2 u3, where ρ (rho) is the fluid density, A = rotor area
in m2, and u is wind speed in m/s
 P = R ρ T, where P = pressure (Nm-2 = Pascal)
 Torque, T = P/ω, in Nm/rad, where P = mechanical power in
watts, ω is angular velocity in rad/sec
 Pumps:
 Pm = gQmh/ήp W, where g=9.81 N/kg, Qm is mass capacity in
kg/s, h is head in m, and ήp is pump mechanical efficiency

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