Future of sustainable marine energy resources

This report illustrates the findings of the study of the potential growth and costs competitiveness of the renewable forms of energy. The study seeks to address the findings such as the future of the renewable marine energy resources and the technologies and solutions adopted for promoting the same. It also seeks to address the challenges and opportunities for the marine renewable sources of energy. It also aims to evaluate the size of wave and tidal energy resources, the status of technological development and the probable economic prize to the organizations implementing it.

Running head: Future of sustainable marine energy resources
Key words : marine energy , renewable sources and wave energy .

Future of sustainable marine energy resources 1
Abstract
This report illustrates the findings of the study of the potential growth and costs competitiveness
of the renewable forms of energy. The study seeks to address the findings such as the future of
the renewable marine energy resources and the technologies and solutions adopted for promoting
the same. It also seeks to address the challenges and opportunities for the marine renewable
sources of energy. It also aims to evaluate the size of wave and tidal energy resources, the status
of technological development and the probable economic prize to the organizations
implementing it. So, this study is based on the application of various statistical and experimental
methods related with the future of sustainable marine energy resources and evaluation of the
results regarding the same.

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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Materials and Methods (Experimental).......................................................................................................4
Results.........................................................................................................................................................5
Discussion....................................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
Limitations..............................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8

Future of sustainable marine energy resources 3
Introduction
Marine energy focuses on the wave and tidal energy. Marine energy challenge has been
associated with the wave and tidal stream energy. The wave energy occurs in the water
movements nearby the surface of the sea. The waves are formulated through the blowing winds
over the sea, thereby the water acts as a carrier of energy. The intensity of energy is dependent
upon their height and period. Similarly, the tidal energy is the result of the rise and fall of tides.
The amount of energy which can be extracted is dependent upon the velocity of the flowing
stream and the area diverted (Zhang, 2012).
There is a huge potential of the water and tidal stream energy to supply the electricity in bulk all
over the world. Wave energy is an emergent technology as an alternative renewable source of
energy. In this context, there are not less than 200 wave energy mechanisms in their various
stages of demonstration and testing. So, the aims of this study are to analyze the challenges and
opportunities in the research and development of the renewable sources of marine energy. It also
aims to find out the size of wave and tidal energy resources, the status of technological
development and the probable economic prize to the organizations implementing it with the help
of various statistical and experimental methods and evaluation of the results regarding the same
(CSIRO, 2018).

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Materials and Methods (Experimental)
With the help of a team of experts comprising of oceanographers, engineers and economists, a
review was conducted regarding the Australian resources, uptake, cost projections and influence
of extraction of energy. The Australian Wave Energy Atlas provided a 4D interactive wave map
of the greater Australian Coastal area which was relative to the infrastructure and spatial
constraints such as shipping routes, ports, aquaculture and marine parks (Turcios and
Papenbrock, 2014).
The aim was to analyze the part of the marine energy in the future energy mix of Australia by
2050. The findings were that the southern Australian coastline had a great scope of wave
resources as the oceanic winds from the southern side constantly generate large waves which
travel from the northern direction towards the southern coastline. It provides ideal conditions for
the production of wave energy. The numerical model of simulation was also undertaken to
analyze and verify SNL-SWAN wave model –the phase-averaged spectral wave model which is
being used by the global community for simulating the impact of wave energy converters on the
surrounding wave fields (Johansson et al., 2012).

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Results
The findings and results of the study were that the wave energy can give up to 11% of the total
energy of Australia by 2050 thereby making it a strong contender regarding the renewable
energy mix of Australia (Moriarty and Honnery, 2012). An inclusive estimate of the wave energy
resources was accomplished and the study revealed the following findings:
SNL-SWAN Simulated attenuation of significant wave height in the lee of the array of CETO
WECs (represented by circles) at the Garden Island site. Triangles represent measurement sites
in the field program.
 The assessment of the wave energy resources was revised in the context of prior
estimates of resources which did not apprehend the spatial distribution of the resources of
Australia.
 The total available wave energy in Australia is an order of magnitude, is more than 248
TW h electricity . It was generated in Australia in the year 2013-2014. It further indicates that
the magnitude of wave resources does not restrict its future uptake.

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 The flux of wave energy across the depths of 25, 50 and 200 m is projected to be 1796,
2652 and 2730 TW h/year respectively.
 The variability of the waves is also a crucial deliberation for the extraction of wave
energy. An analysis of the wave variability at the 25-m isobaths illustrates that the mid-latitude
coastal region is favorable as it demonstrates the low variability of wave energy with regards to
the total availability of wave energy (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organization, 2017).
Discussion
The studies reflect that the southern coastline of Australia comprises a huge wave resource. In
the year 2005-2006, Australia had generated about 254 TW h/yr of electrical energy from the
total capacity of 50GW. 75% of the electricity generation was from coal. The resources of wave
energy along the southern coast of Australia which is 146 GW is three times the total installed
capacity of the country (Devine-Wright, 2014).
It has been found that the incident wave energy which is 10% can satisfy around 1/2 of
electricity needs of Australia. The nearshore wave energy resource map explains that the
resource is approximately 30% -50% lesser as compared to the estimates of the World Energy
Council for Southern Australia. In the area of Australian National Electricity Grid , the resource
of tidal energy is essentially spatially same (AORES, 2018).
Conclusion
The data set out in the study focuses on providing an appropriate data set for providing the policy
with details of the wave energy which is available on the nearshore regions of Australia for the

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purpose of harnessing the wave energy. The data shall further define the most appropriate
locations for commercializing the wave energy converters. The user group shall require the data
of wave energy time series which provides the details of the thresholds which a device would fail
to operate.
The Government of Australia is required to produce 45000GW h/ yr of additional renewable
energy prior to 2020. The aggregate renewable energy quota can be accomplished if 10% of the
energy which is accessible over a section of 100 km of the coast of Southern Australia is
transformed into electricity (Eco generation, 2018).
Limitations
Furthermore, the limitations of this study pertain to the limitation of the knowledge of resources
comprising of the temporal and spatial variability along with its spectral characteristics. The
difficulty has also been confronted regarding the access of spatial data and identification of
multiple designated marine management regimes of the marine territory of Australia. Lastly,
there is also a limited evidence base and methods for the purpose of accessing the impacts of
extraction of wave energy on the marine and coastal atmosphere (ARENA, n.d.).
References
AORES(2018) 2018 Australian Ocean Renewable Energy Symposium [online] Available from:
https://aores2018.com.au/ [Accessed 26th September, 2018].

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ARENA (n.d.) Australian Wave Energy Atlas. [online] Available from:
https://arena.gov.au/projects/australian-wave-energy-atlas/ [Accessed 26th September, 2018].
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization( 2017) Wave Energy in
Australia . [online] Available from: https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/OandA/Areas/Marine-
technologies/Ocean-energy/Wave-energy [Accessed 26th September, 2018].
CSIRO (2018) The Australian Wave Energy Atlas Project Overview and Final Report [online]
Available from: https://arena.gov.au/assets/2014/02/Wave-Atlas-Final-Report.pdf [Accessed 26th
September, 2018].
Devine-Wright, P.(2014) Renewable Energy and the Public: from NIMBY to Participation. NY:
Routledge. pp. 1-100.
Eco generation (2018) Australia’s wave energy inventors look for a break [online] Available
from: http://www.ecogeneration.com.au/australias-wave-energy-inventors-look-for-a-break/
[Accessed 26th September, 2018].
Johansson, T.B., Patwardhan, A.P., Nakićenović, N. and Gomez-Echeverri, L. (2012) Global energy
assessment: toward a sustainable future. USA : Cambridge University Press. pp.455.
Moriarty, P. and Honnery, D.( 2012) What is the global potential for renewable
energy?. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 16(1), pp.244-252.
Turcios, A.E. and Papenbrock, J.(2014) Sustainable treatment of aquaculture effluents—what
can we learn from the past for the future?. Sustainability. 6(2), pp.836-856.

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Zhang , X.P.(2012) Marine Energy: The Key for the Development of Sustainable Energy
Supply.IEEE.100(1),pp. 3-5.