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Title: In-stream hydrokinetic power: Review and appraisal

Journal Article · · Journal of Energy Engineering
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9]
  1. Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton, FL (United States)
  2. Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, MS (United States)
  3. Cooper Union College, New York, NY (United States)
  4. Wavelink Inc., Huntsville, AL (United States); U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  6. Ecomerit Technologies, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
  7. Florida Atlantic Univ., Dania Beach, FL (United States)
  8. PCCI, Inc., Alexandria, VA (United States)
  9. Boeing Co., Seattle, WA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

The objective of this paper is to provide a review of in-stream hydrokinetic power, which is defined as electric power generated by devices capturing the energy of naturally flowing water – stream, tidal, or open ocean flows – without impounding the water. North America has significant in-stream energy resources, and hydrokinetic electric power technologies to harness those resources have the potential to make a significant contribution to U.S. electricity needs by adding as much as 120 TWh/year from rivers alone to the present hydroelectric power generation capacity. Additionally, tidal and ocean current resources in the U.S. respectively contain 438 TWh/year and 163 TWh/year of extractable power. Among their attractive features, in-stream hydrokinetic operations do not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions or other air pollution and have less visual impact than wind turbines. Since these systems do no utilize dams the way traditional hydropower systems typically do, their impact on the environment will differ and there is small but growing number of studies to support conclusions regarding those impacts. Potential environmental impacts include altered water quality, altered sediment deposition, altered habitats, direct impact on biota and navigability of waterways.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton, FL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; EE0004200
OSTI ID:
1263861
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1986601
Journal Information:
Journal of Energy Engineering, Vol. 141, Issue 3; ISSN 0733-9402
Publisher:
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 25 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (20)

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conference February 2010
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Design and Analysis of a Rotor Blade Optimized for Extracting Energy From the Florida Current
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Cited By (4)

Renewable Energy in Wilderness Landscapes: Visitors’ Perspectives journal October 2019
Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century journal November 2018
Tidal current energy potential assessment in the Avilés Port using a three-dimensional CFD method journal May 2019
Evaluating riverine hydrokinetic turbine operations relative to the spatial ecology of wild fishes journal January 2017

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13 HYDRO ENERGY
42 ENGINEERING
hydropower
hydrokinetic
streams
tidal power
river power
ocean current energy
marine renewable energy
in-stream hydro
hydropower
hydrokinetic
streams
tidal power
river power
ocean current 8 energy
marine renewable energy
in-stream hydro