Marine Energy

WHAT IS OCEANIC POWER?

Marine energy, also known as marine and hydrokinetic energy or marine renewable energy, is a form of renewable energy derived from the natural movement of water, such as waves, tides, and river and ocean currents. Through a process known as ocean thermal energy conversion, it is also possible to extract energy from temperature variations in water.

Funding Opportunities

There are several options to capture marine energy. In 2019, the entire marine energy resource accessible in the United States is comparable to around 57% of all U.S. electricity production. Marine energy technologies would make considerable contributions to the nation’s energy demands even if just a tiny percentage of this technological resource potential is tapped. Researchers are exploring and deploying novel devices in an effort to extract energy from these abundant water sources.

HOW DOES MARINE ENERGY WORK?

Marine energy systems create clean energy from the kinetic energy of waves, currents, and tides as well as the thermal energy of deep cold water to surface water conversion. Some wave energy converters, for instance, employ buoys to absorb energy from the ocean’s vertical and horizontal movement, while turbines may capture energy from tides and currents. Learn more about the many forms of marine energy resources on the Marine Renewable Energy Basics page of the Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF OCEANIC ENERGY?

In light of the fact that more than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast, marine energy resources are geographically diversified and well located to power towns. The predictability of these resources makes them viable contributions to a steady, dependable renewable energy infrastructure. For instance, the daily and seasonal cycles of marine energy resources make them an ideal complement to other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

The majority of marine energy systems are submerged or otherwise positioned at sea, so they create clean energy while preserving the natural beauty of the ocean and water. These technology may also be used to research the uncharted ocean, improve desalination systems to supply clean drinking water, and investigate further blue economy uses.

MARINE ENERGY IN SOUTH AFRICA

While there are presently no maritime energy projects in South Africa, there is interest and feasibility studies are now being done. Banks and Schaffner (2005) predict that waves along the South African coast may generate between 25 and 50 MW/km of energy. Approximately 56,000 MW are accessible throughout the whole coastline (DME 2003). This resource might add 8 to 10 GW to South Africa’s power generation.