Effects and management implications of emerging marine renewable energy technologies

Abstract

Offshore renewable energy technologies are being tested and deployed around the world to mitigate climate change and to bring clean sustainable energy to remote locations. The trend is being led by the development of offshore wind, with energy from waves, tides, and large run of the river turbines also increasing. However, there are additional marine renewable energy technologies that will help to fill in gaps of availability and location for power production. These emerging technologies are generally less well known, including ocean thermal energy conversion, seawater air conditioning, power from salinity gradients, and floating solar photovoltaics (floatovoltaics). Coupled with each of these power production systems is the need for energy systems at sea to aid in storage and transport of the energy. There is little known about the potential environmental effects of these emerging technologies or undersea energy storage, or how they might best be managed. This paper describes the new technologies and explores the potential effects on the marine environment and wildlife and recommends approaches to their management.