Ocean energy sources may be broadly divided into the following three

categories:
1.Tidal energy.
2.Wave energy.
3.Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).
 TIDAL POWER PLANTS

 The periodic rise and fall of the water level of sea which are carried by
the action of the sun and moon on water of the earth is called the 'tide'.
 Tidal energy can furnish a significant portion of all such energies which
are renewable in nature. The large scale up and down movement of sea
water represents an unlimited source of energy. If some part of this vast
energy can be converted into electrical energy, it would be an important
source of hydropower.
 Components of Tidal Power Plants

Power house: the turbines, electrical generator and other auxiliary equipments
are the main component of a power house
Dam or Barrage: The function of dam to form a barrier between the sea and
basin or between one basin and the other in case of multiple basins.
Sluice ways: the sluice ways are used either to fill the basin during the high tide
or empty the basin during the low tide , as per operational requirement. These are
gate controlled devices.
CLASSIFICATION OF TIDAL POWER PLANTS

1. Single basin arrangement

(i)Single ebb-cycle system
(ii) Single tide-cycle system
(iii) Double cycle system.
2. Double basin arrangement.
i) Single ebb-cycle system

 In this type of system the water fills the

barrage during high tide through sluice
ways
 At the end of high tide sluice ways are
closed as the tide range starts falling
i.e. at ebb tide water is made to pass
through the turbine to the sea and
hence power is generated.
ii) Single tide-cycle system:

 In a single tide/high tide cycle the

turbine is turned on
 During high tide the water enters the
barrage through turbine , generator and
there by generates the electric power.
 During ebb tide (low tide), turbine is
shut down and water has been released
back to sea through sluice ways.
iii) Double cycle system:

 In double cycle system the turbine is used to operate continuously

irrespective of the tides the turbine is rotate in clockwise and
anticlockwise direction.

 During the high tide water will allowed to flow to the barrage through
turbine. At the end of the high tide or at the beginning of the low tide
water flows back to the sea through turbine, during the backflow of water
turbine rotates in opposite direction, hence power can be generated in
both the tides.

 In this system the sluice ways are not present.

2. Double basin arrangement:
Advantages of tidal energy:

1. Tidal power is completely independent of the precipitation (rain)

and its uncertainty, besides being inexhaustible.

2. Large area of valuable land is not required.

3. When a tidal power plant works in combination with thermal or

hydro-electric system, peak power demand can be effectively met
with.

4. Tidal power generation is free from pollution.

Limitations of tidal energy:

1. Due to variation in tidal range the output is not uniform.

2. Since the turbines have to work on a wide range of head variation (due to variable tide range)
the plant efficiency is affected.

3. There is a fear of machinery being corroded due to corrosive sea water.

4. It is difficult to carry out construction in sea.

5. As compared to other sources of energy, the tidal power plant is costly.

6. Sedimentation and silteration of basins are the problems associated with tidal power plants.

7. The power transmission cost is high because the tidal power plants are located away from load
centres.
 Ocean Thermal energy Conversion (OTEC)

 Thermal Energy Conversion is an energy technology, which uses the ocean’s

natural temperature gradient to drive a turbine, which is connected to a
generator. It is desirable that the temperature difference between the warm
surface water and the cold deep water be at least 200C (680F).
 OTEC systems are works on the basic relationship between pressure (P),
temperature (T) and volume (V) of a fluid, which can be expressed by the
following equation,
PV
 a constant
T
There are basically three types of OTEC systems developed that can utilize sea
water temperature differentials they are

1. Closed Rankine cycle or vapour cycle or Anderson cycle

2. Open cycle or Claude Cycle Or Steam Cycle

3. Hybrid-cycle
1) Open cycle or Claude Cycle or Steam Cycle:
2) Closed Rankine cycle or vapour cycle or Anderson cycle:
Advantages
1. OTEC uses clean, renewable, natural resources. Warm surface seawater and cold water from the
ocean depths replace fossil fuels to produce electricity.
2. Suitably designed OTEC plants will produce little or no carbon dioxide or other polluting
chemicals.
3. OTEC systems can produce fresh water as well as electricity. This is a significant advantage in
island areas where fresh water is limited.
4. There is enough solar energy received and stored in the warm tropical ocean surface layer to
provide most, if not all, of present human energy needs.
5. The use of OTEC as a source of electricity will help reduce the state's almost complete
dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Disadvantages
1. OTEC-produced electricity at present would cost more than electricity generated from fossil fuels
at their current costs.
2. OTEC plants must be located where a difference of about 20º C occurs year round. Ocean depths
must be available fairly close to shore-based facilities for economic operation. Floating plant ships
could provide more flexibility.
3. No energy company will put money in this project because it only had been tested in a very small
scale.
4. Construction of OTEC plants and lying of pipes in coastal waters may cause localized damage to
reefs and near-shore marine ecosystems.
5. Construction of floating power plants is difficult.
6. Plant size is limited to about 100 MW due to large size of components.
7. High investment is required.
WAVES ENERGY:

• Waves are caused by the transfer of energy from surface winds to sea. The rate of energy
transfer depends upon the wind speed & the distance over which interacts with water.

• The energy flux in waves is more than that available from solar, wind & other renewable
sources. The power in the waves is proportional to the square of its amplitude & to the
period of its motion. The energy stored is dissipated through friction at shore & turbulence
at rates depending on characteristics of wave & water depth.

• Wave energy in open oceans is likely to be inaccessible. The resource potential near
coastlines is estimated as in excess of 20, 00,000 MW. Wave power is usually expressed in
KW/m, repressing the rate at which energy is transferred across a line of 1 m length
parallel to the wave front.
ADVANTAGES:

• The availability of large energy fluxes

• Productivity of wave conditions over periods of days,

DIFFICULTIES:

• Irregularity of wave patterns in amplitude, phase & direction, which makes it difficult to extract
power efficiently

• The power extraction system is exposed to occasional extreme stormy conditions.

• Peak power of deep water waves is available in open sea, where is difficult to construct, operate &
maintain a system & transmit power to the store,

• The slow & irregular motion of wave is required to be coupled to be electrical generator requiring
high & constant speed motion.
 GEO-THERMAL ENERGY

• The heat obtained from high pressure steam in the earth crust is called geothermal
energy. It is the natural heat of the earth.

• The normal temperature gradients range from 8-15 degree Celsius per kilometer
depth.

• The temperature at the earth’s centre is around 310 degree Celsius and the average
temperature at a depth of 10 km is approximately equal to 200 degree Celsius.

• A total of around 1500 to 2000 MW of power is being generated in the world from
geothermal source, which is contributing less towards the world’s electrical needs.
GEO-THERMAL ENERGY
 GEO-THERMAL SOURCES

1) Hydro thermal convective systems

 Vapour dominated or dry steam fields
 Liquid dominated system or wet steam fields
 Hot water fields
2) Geo-pressure resources
3) Petro thermal or hot dry rocks
4) Magma resources
5) volcanoes
1) Hydro thermal convective systems:

Fig: Vapour dominated or dry steam fields

Fig: liquid dominated system single flash
2) Geo-pressure resources- high pressure and high temp water or brine is
present in the reservoir. It is at 160 degree C, at a depth of 2400-9000m.

3) Petro thermal or hot dry rocks- the temperature ranges from 150-300
degree C.

4) Magma resources- partially or completely molten rock, temp greater than

650 degree C.

5) volcanoes
 Advantages of Geothermal Energy:
1. Geothermal energy is cheaper.
2. It is versatile in its use.
3. It is the least polluting as compared to other conventional energy sources.
4. It is renewable for multiple uses from a single resource.
5. Geothermal power plants have the highest annual load factors of 85 percent to 90 percent
compared to 45 percent to 50 percent for fossil fuel plants.
6. It delivers greater amount of net energy from its system as compared to other alternative or
conventional systems.
7. Geothermal energy from the earth's interior is almost as inexhaustible as solar or wind
energy, so long as its sources are actively brought and economically tapped.
 Disadvantages:
1. Low overall power production efficiency (about 15% as compared to 35 to 40% for fossil fuel
plants).
2. Drilling operation is noisy.
3. Large areas are needed for exploitation of geo-thermal energy.
4. The withdrawal of large amounts of steam or water from a hydro-thermal reservoir may
result in surface subsidence or settlement.
 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH GEOTHERMAL CONVERSION
1) The temperature is not sufficiently high to provide fluids to run turbines.
2) The presence of dissolved gases and salts, particulate matter in the steam and hot
water causes serious operating problems.
3) It produces salty effluent with sodium and potassium compounds. It also consists of
lithium, fluorine, and boron and arsenic compounds. The discharge of such effluents
to existing water results in severe pollution problems.
4) The non-condensable gases in the steam may contain 4-5 % of hydrogen sulphide
which has an unpleasant Odour and is harmful to plant and animal life.
5) The control of noise generated by the release of steam during well venting, during
release of over pressures and during general plant operations is a problem
associated with the geothermal fields.
SCOPE OF GEO-THERMAL ENERGY

 Geothermal heat pumps

 Space heating
 Greenhouse and covered ground heating
 Aquaculture pond and raceway heating
 Agricultural crop drying
 Industrial process heat
 Snow melting and space cooling
 Bathing and swimming
LARGEST GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS IN THE WORLD
1) The Geysers Complex, CA, USA (1,520 MW capacity)
2) Lardarello Complex, Italy (770 MW capacity)
3) Cerro Prieto Station, Mexico (720 MW capacity)
4) Makiling-Banahaw Complex, Phillipines (460 MW capacity)
5) CalEnergy-Salton Sea, CA, USA (340 MW capacity)
6) Hellisheidi, Iceland (300 MW)
7) Tiwi Complex, Phillipines (290 MW capacity)
8) Darajat Station, Indonesia (260 MW capacity)
9) Malitbog Station, Phillipines (230 MW capacity)
10)Wayang Windu Plant, Indonesia (225 MW capacity)
 India has reasonably good potential for geothermal; the potential geothermal
provinces can produce 10600 MW of power (but experts are confident only
to the extent of 100 MW).

 But yet geothermal power projects has not been exploited at all, owing to a
variety of reasons, the chief being the availability of plentiful coal at cheap
costs.

 However, with increasing environmental problems with coal based projects,

India will need to start depending on clean and eco-friendly energy sources
in future; one of which could be geothermal.