IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v169y2021icp700-713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tidal turbines in the estuarine environment: From identifying optimal location to environmental impact

Author

Listed:
  • Ross, Lauren
  • Sottolichio, Aldo
  • Huybrechts, Nicolas
  • Brunet, Pascal

Abstract

Estuaries that feature large tidal ranges (macrotidal) have recently received attention for their potential to generate energy by tidal stream turbines. As estuaries are delicate ecosystems and often have large human populations residing on their shores, determining where to place the turbines and how they will impact the hydrodynamics and sediment transport of these systems is vital to their successful implementation. The aim of this study is to provide a framework for assessing an estuary for turbine placement, including determining how the turbines will impact the environment (focusing on the physics), and examining other items that could peripherally affect the tidal turbine farm location or impact. This work was carried out using the Gironde Estuary as a case study and included a combination of in-situ data collection and numerical modeling. In terms of the turbine farm impact on the hydrodynamics and Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC), results showed that the inclusion of a farm reduced currents up to 10% and decreased SSC up to 15 mg/l. The decrease in SSC was due to the attenuated current velocities decreasing friction velocity and thus near bottom generated turbulence that suspends bottom sediment. Over time, the decreased SSC will lead to sediment accumulation and new bottom features.

Suggested Citation

  • Ross, Lauren & Sottolichio, Aldo & Huybrechts, Nicolas & Brunet, Pascal, 2021. "Tidal turbines in the estuarine environment: From identifying optimal location to environmental impact," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 700-713.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:169:y:2021:i:c:p:700-713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.01.039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148121000458
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2021.01.039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thiébot, Jérôme & Bailly du Bois, Pascal & Guillou, Sylvain, 2015. "Numerical modeling of the effect of tidal stream turbines on the hydrodynamics and the sediment transport – Application to the Alderney Race (Raz Blanchard), France," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 356-365.
    2. Pacheco, A. & Ferreira, Ó., 2016. "Hydrodynamic changes imposed by tidal energy converters on extracting energy on a real case scenario," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 369-385.
    3. Defne, Zafer & Haas, Kevin A. & Fritz, Hermann M., 2011. "Numerical modeling of tidal currents and the effects of power extraction on estuarine hydrodynamics along the Georgia coast, USA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3461-3471.
    4. Fallon, D. & Hartnett, M. & Olbert, A. & Nash, S., 2014. "The effects of array configuration on the hydro-environmental impacts of tidal turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 10-25.
    5. Ahmadian, Reza & Falconer, Roger A., 2012. "Assessment of array shape of tidal stream turbines on hydro-environmental impacts and power output," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 318-327.
    6. Garcia-Oliva, Miriam & Djordjević, Slobodan & Tabor, Gavin R., 2017. "The influence of channel geometry on tidal energy extraction in estuaries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 514-525.
    7. Vennell, Ross, 2011. "Estimating the power potential of tidal currents and the impact of power extraction on flow speeds," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3558-3565.
    8. Roc, Thomas & Conley, Daniel C. & Greaves, Deborah, 2013. "Methodology for tidal turbine representation in ocean circulation model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 448-464.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rtimi, Rajae & Sottolichio, Aldo & Tassi, Pablo, 2022. "The Rance tidal power station: Toward a better understanding of sediment dynamics in response to power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 323-343.
    2. Yang, Zhixue & Ren, Zhouyang & Li, Hui & Pan, Zhen & Xia, Weiyi, 2024. "A review of tidal current power generation farm planning: Methodologies, characteristics and challenges," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guillou, Nicolas & Thiébot, Jérôme, 2016. "The impact of seabed rock roughness on tidal stream power extraction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 762-773.
    2. Li, Xiaorong & Li, Ming & Jordan, Laura-Beth & McLelland, Stuart & Parsons, Daniel R. & Amoudry, Laurent O. & Song, Qingyang & Comerford, Liam, 2019. "Modelling impacts of tidal stream turbines on surface waves," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 725-734.
    3. Soto-Rivas, Karina & Richter, David & Escauriaza, Cristian, 2022. "Flow effects of finite-sized tidal turbine arrays in the Chacao Channel, Southern Chile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 637-647.
    4. Li, Xiaorong & Li, Ming & McLelland, Stuart J. & Jordan, Laura-Beth & Simmons, Stephen M. & Amoudry, Laurent O. & Ramirez-Mendoza, Rafael & Thorne, Peter D., 2017. "Modelling tidal stream turbines in a three-dimensional wave-current fully coupled oceanographic model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PA), pages 297-307.
    5. Zarzuelo, Carmen & López-Ruiz, Alejandro & Ortega-Sánchez, Miguel, 2018. "Impact of human interventions on tidal stream power: The case of Cádiz Bay," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 88-104.
    6. Nash, S. & Phoenix, A., 2017. "A review of the current understanding of the hydro-environmental impacts of energy removal by tidal turbines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 648-662.
    7. Wei-Bo Chen & Wen-Cheng Liu & Ming-Hsi Hsu, 2013. "Modeling Evaluation of Tidal Stream Energy and the Impacts of Energy Extraction on Hydrodynamics in the Taiwan Strait," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-13, April.
    8. Deng, Guizhong & Zhang, Zhaoru & Li, Ye & Liu, Hailong & Xu, Wentao & Pan, Yulin, 2020. "Prospective of development of large-scale tidal current turbine array: An example numerical investigation of Zhejiang, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    9. Sánchez, M. & Carballo, R. & Ramos, V. & Iglesias, G., 2014. "Energy production from tidal currents in an estuary: A comparative study of floating and bottom-fixed turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 802-811.
    10. Goh, Hooi-Bein & Lai, Sai-Hin & Jameel, Mohammed & Teh, Hee-Min, 2020. "Potential of coastal headlands for tidal energy extraction and the resulting environmental effects along Negeri Sembilan coastlines: A numerical simulation study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    11. Thiébot, Jérôme & Guillou, Nicolas & Guillou, Sylvain & Good, Andrew & Lewis, Michael, 2020. "Wake field study of tidal turbines under realistic flow conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1196-1208.
    12. Vazquez, A. & Iglesias, G., 2015. "LCOE (levelised cost of energy) mapping: A new geospatial tool for tidal stream energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 192-201.
    13. Ramírez-Mendoza, R. & Murdoch, L. & Jordan, L.B. & Amoudry, L.O. & McLelland, S. & Cooke, R.D. & Thorne, P. & Simmons, S.M. & Parsons, D. & Vezza, M., 2020. "Asymmetric effects of a modelled tidal turbine on the flow and seabed," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 238-249.
    14. Christelle Auguste & Philip Marsh & Jean-Roch Nader & Remo Cossu & Irene Penesis, 2020. "Towards a Tidal Farm in Banks Strait, Tasmania: Influence of Tidal Array on Hydrodynamics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-22, October.
    15. Lilia Flores Mateos & Michael Hartnett, 2020. "Hydrodynamic Effects of Tidal-Stream Power Extraction for Varying Turbine Operating Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, June.
    16. du Feu, R.J. & Funke, S.W. & Kramer, S.C. & Hill, J. & Piggott, M.D., 2019. "The trade-off between tidal-turbine array yield and environmental impact: A habitat suitability modelling approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 390-403.
    17. Work, Paul A. & Haas, Kevin A. & Defne, Zafer & Gay, Thomas, 2013. "Tidal stream energy site assessment via three-dimensional model and measurements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 510-519.
    18. Wang, Taiping & Yang, Zhaoqing, 2017. "A modeling study of tidal energy extraction and the associated impact on tidal circulation in a multi-inlet bay system of Puget Sound," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PA), pages 204-214.
    19. Guillou, Nicolas & Thiébot, Jérôme & Chapalain, Georges, 2019. "Turbines’ effects on water renewal within a marine tidal stream energy site," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    20. González-Gorbeña, Eduardo & Pacheco, André & Plomaritis, Theocharis A. & Ferreira, Óscar & Sequeira, Cláudia, 2018. "Estimating the optimum size of a tidal array at a multi-inlet system considering environmental and performance constraints," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 292-311.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:169:y:2021:i:c:p:700-713. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.