Marine Electric Energy Sources - Essay Example

Marine Electric Energy Sources: Introduction: In this paper we analyse the various marine electric energy sources, the greatest percentage of energyin the world is produced using fossil fuels, wind farms, geothermal power and hydroelectric energy. Renewable energy sources that can be harnessed off shore include offshore wind farms, tidal barrages, and wave energy and ocean thermal energy conversions. The following is a discussion of some articles regarding offshore electric energy sources and their implications. Tidal barrage: Tidal energy is generated when ocean water levels changes due to the motion of the earth relative to the movement of the moon and the sun, tides are more predictable than other forms of renewable energy such as wind and for this reason have the potential to be used in future as a source of electric energy. Tides are formed as a result of gravitation force from the sun and the moon, Tidal barrage are dams constructed across an estuary to hold water during high tides and then utilise the potential energy from the high water levels during low tide to generate electricity using turbines, the largest tidal barrage is the Rance tidal plant in France that produces 240 mega watts. Wave energy: Wave are formed when a strong wind passes over sea water, when wave energy is captured it is used to generate electricity, the height of waves depend on the speed of wind, depth of water and duration of wind. According to Jason Margolis(2007) the Pelamis system is on of the widely used method to produce electricity, the Pelamis is a large snake like device that floats and is anchored to the seabed, the device has three power generating sections and waves enable the device to make snake like movements that push hydraulic fluids used in generating electricity, Jason Margolis (2007) states that the system is expensive compared to other sources of energy and at the same time relatively inefficient, these devices are placed parallel to each other forming a wave farm, one of the operational Pelamis system was installed in Portugal in 2008 producing 2.25 megawatts. Offshore Wind farms: Wind power is utilised by turbines which that produce electric energy, according to Jason Margolis (2007) wind energy costs have reduced by 80% over the years due to advancement in technology. A wind farm is a number of wind turbines in the same location. Wind farms are either onshore farm, near shore or offshore. Offshore wind farms are located some kilometres into the sea, wind speed in the sea is considered to have higher speed compared to the wind on the land, however offshore wind firms are more expensive than other wind farms. According to Jason Szep (2009) the US plans to install an offshore wind firm at a cost of 1 billion dollars, the project is expected to have 130 turbines which will produce approximately 170 megawatts in the Cape Cod region and the power generated will be in a position to provide power to over 400,000 residents. Ocean thermal energy conversion: This is a form of energy source that involves utilising temperature differences in sea water, large temperature differences produce more power, the thermal system used in producing electricity is approximately 3%, system used in utilising this form of energy are very expensive and the power produced is relatively low and depends on the location. According to Reuters (2008) the US government has plans of spending over 1.4 billion to enable innovations of Ocean thermal energy conversion, for this reason therefore there have been efforts to improve Ocean thermal energy conversion. Political, economic and environmental implications: Political implications: The European Union according to this report is planning to over 20% of energy using renewable source and therefore it is likely that the renewable energy will be alternative in the future to produce electric energy. However Critics exist is that the some forms of energy sources will hinder economic growth, example the proposed wind farm in the US is expected to hinder commercial fishing in the region and also disrupt the tourism industry in the area. Economic implications: Renewable energy projects are is very costly, for example (Kinver, 2007) states that the construction of tidal barrages in the UK will cost the government 14 billion, and the US offshore wind farm will cost 1 billion dollars, and the US spending over 1.4 billion to encourage innovations of Ocean thermal energy conversion. This in economics is termed as government spending that will boost the local economy. (BBC, 2007) whereby there will be an increase in employment opportunity whereby engineers and manual labourers will be employed during construction improving economic performance. The infrastructure will also be a tourist attraction site boosting both local and international tourism. Therefore economies will experience an increase in foreign earnings from tourism. Renewable energy sources produce cheap and reliable sources of energy, it is evident that the above discussed energy sources have greater potential than existing energy sources example the planned UK tidal barrage has a capacity of 8.64 Giga watts and this accounts for 5% of energy needs in the UK. it is also evident that fossil fuels are imported to produce electric energy and in therefore harnessing renewable energy sources off sea will create an opportunity to lower energy source and at the same time reduce the level of fuel imported, this is evident whereby ( Margolis, 2007)states that there has been an 80% decline in wind energy. Environmental implications: Renewable energy sources are environmental friendly, energy produced will reduce the amount of fossil fuels and this will help reduce environmental degradation, extensive use of fossil fuels has led to an increase in green house gases which lead to global warming (Nakanishi N, 2009), by increasing the use of renewable energy there will be a reduction in environmental pollution and degradation. The above energy sources have been criticised for adverse effects example the offshore wind farm is expected to kill migrating birds, tidal barrages are likely to make changes to the ecosystem and also kill 15% of fish that pass through turbines, however it is also evident that these effects are less harmful to the health than the use of fossil fuels to produce electricity. Technology: There has been advancement in technology in the above mentioned electric energy sources, however the most advanced source is wind farms which has been extensively used and technology has advancement to improve efficiency and cost of energy, therefore it is evident that technology has helped reduce the cost of energy produced and at the same time to increase efficiency of systems used to harness energy. In tidal energy various methods have been invented and they include the tidal stream method and tidal lagoons (Gerard Wynn, 2009), wave energy on the other hand has not been much utilised compared to other sources such as wind and therefore devices are still on their first stage of technological advancement, however alternatives exist such as the CETO system which was invented in Australia, a float is attached to the piston pump of the device and when there are waves the float moves up and down pumping water to a reservoir and the water is used to generate electricity. Future of offshore renewable energy source: In future we expect an increase in the harnessing of renewable energy to produce electricity, by installing renewable energy systems less fossil fuels will utilised and therefore the problem of global warming will be checked. It is also evident that the European Union is working on formulating regulations that will ensure a reduction in the utilisation of non renewable resources in producing electricity. We therefore expect an increase in the production of electric energy using renewable sources of energy in future due to advancement in technology which will increase efficiency, cost and reliability of these energy sources. This in turn will influence countries to harness renewable energy sources and this will reduce environmental degradation caused by the use of non renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels. References: BBC, 2007, Tide power plan is wrong option, viewed 18th March Gerard Wynn, 2009, UK reports point to wind, tide power deployment, viewed 18th March Jason Margolis, 2007, Wave farms show energy potential, viewed 19th March Jason Szep, 2009, Plan for huge wind farm moves forward, viewed 19th March, John Vidal, 2007, Severn barrage could generate 5% of UK energy, viewed 18th March John Vidal, 2008, Severn barrage will be costly ecological disaster, say environment groups, viewed 18th March Juliet Jowit, 2007, Build river barrage for tidal power, viewed 18th March Mark Kinver, 2007, BBC news: Advisers endorse tidal power plan, viewed 18th March Mark Kinver, 2008, the ebb and flow of tidal power, viewed 18th March Nakanishi N, 2009, UK needs huge investment to secure power study, viewed 18th March Reuters, 2008, innovative Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Subsystem, viewed 19th March, The Guardian, 2009, Barrage plan makes Severn estuary energy shortlist, viewed 18th March Read More