A comparison of the power potential for surface- and seabed-deployed tidal turbines in the San Juan Archipelago, Salish Sea, WA

Calandra, Gemma; Wang, Taiping; Miller, Calum; Yang, Zhaoqing; Polagye, Brian

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2023.05.099

A comparison of the power potential for surface- and seabed-deployed tidal turbines in the San Juan Archipelago, Salish Sea, WA

Journal Article · Fri Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Renewable Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.05.099· OSTI ID:1989172

Calandra, Gemma ^[1]; Wang, Taiping ^[2]; Miller, Calum ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[5]

University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Orbital Marine Power, Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

The San Juan archipelago lies along the axis of tidal movement between Straits of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia in the Salish Sea. The amplitude of the tidal exchange produces significant tidal currents between the islands, as well as in Rosario and Haro Straits. These are of interest as a future source of electrical power generation, given the islands’ dependence on electricity supply by a subsea cable from the mainland. Here, we evaluate the tidal current energy potential in this region through a re-analysis of measurements collected by the National Ocean Service (NOS) and a high-resolution numerical model. Given the considerable variations in water depth and vertical velocity profiles across candidate tidal energy sites, we consider the trade-offs between tidal turbines deployed from a floating platform and those anchored to the seabed. Measurement re-analysis indicates several locations that could support tidal current power generation by MW-scale turbines with an acceptable balance between turbine size, rated power, and capacity factor. Even for relatively large (30 m) turbine diameters, surface-deployed turbines would be expected to produce up to 30 % more electricity than the same turbine deployed near the seabed due to vertical shear, with this difference increasing for smaller diameter turbines. A benchmark comparison at the measurement locations with the highest power generation potential shows relatively good model fidelity, though, even with relatively high resolution, time-average power density disagreements of ± 50 % persist throughout the water column. Nonetheless, the simulation identifies several locations with power generation potential more than twice as high as locations in the measurement re-analysis. These sites were either not surveyed by NOS or excluded due to data quality issues. Altogether, these results demonstrate the complimentary of models and measurements for tidal energy site assessment and suggest that tidal currents could be an important source of electricity generation in the San Juan archipelago.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1989172

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-180909

Journal Information:: Renewable Energy, Journal Name: Renewable Energy Vol. 214; ISSN 0960-1481

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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A comparison of the power potential for surface- and seabed-deployed tidal turbines in the San Juan Archipelago, Salish Sea, WA

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