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Cost Assessment Methodology and Economic Viability of Tidal Energy Projects

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Segura

    (Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • Rafael Morales

    (Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • José A. Somolinos

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Navales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The exploitation of technologies with which to harness the energy from ocean currents will have considerable possibilities in the future thanks to their enormous potential for electricity production and their high predictability. In this respect, the development of methodologies for the economic viability of these technologies is fundamental to the attainment of a consistent quantification of their costs and the discovery of their economic viability, while simultaneously attracting investment in these technologies. This paper presents a methodology with which to determine the economic viability of tidal energy projects, which includes a technical study of the life-cycle costs into which the development of a tidal farm can be decomposed: concept and definition, design and development, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance and dismantling. These cost structures are additionally subdivided by considering their sub-costs and bearing in mind the main components of the tidal farm: the nacelle, the supporting tidal energy converter structure and the export power system. Furthermore, a technical study is developed in order to obtain an estimation of the annual energy produced (and, consequently, the incomes generated if the electric tariff is known) by considering its principal attributes: the characteristics of the current, the ability of the device to capture energy and its ability to convert and export the energy. The methodology has been applied (together with a sensibility analysis) to the particular case of a farm composed of first generation tidal energy converters in one of the Channel Island Races, the Alderney Race, in the U.K., and the results have been attained by means of the computation of engineering indexes, such as the net present value, the internal rate of return, the discounted payback period and the levelized cost of energy, which indicate that the proposed project is economically viable for all the case studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Segura & Rafael Morales & José A. Somolinos, 2017. "Cost Assessment Methodology and Economic Viability of Tidal Energy Projects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:11:p:1806-:d:118254
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    Cited by:

    1. Almoghayer, Mohammed A. & Woolf, David K. & Kerr, Sandy & Davies, Gareth, 2022. "Integration of tidal energy into an island energy system – A case study of Orkney islands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    2. López, A. & Morán, J.L. & Núñez, L.R. & Somolinos, J.A., 2020. "Study of a cost model of tidal energy farms in early design phases with parametrization and numerical values. Application to a second-generation device," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    3. Van Thinh Nguyen & Alina Santa Cruz & Sylvain S. Guillou & Mohamad N. Shiekh Elsouk & Jérôme Thiébot, 2019. "Effects of the Current Direction on the Energy Production of a Tidal Farm: The Case of Raz Blanchard (France)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Pearre, Nathaniel & Swan, Lukas, 2020. "Reimagining renewable electricity grid management with dispatchable generation to stabilize energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    5. Segura, E. & Morales, R. & Somolinos, J.A., 2018. "Economic-financial modeling for marine current harnessing projects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 859-880.
    6. Ophelie Choupin & Michael Henriksen & Amir Etemad-Shahidi & Rodger Tomlinson, 2021. "Breaking-Down and Parameterising Wave Energy Converter Costs Using the CapEx and Similitude Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-27, February.
    7. Eva Segura & Rafael Morales & José A. Somolinos, 2019. "Influence of Automated Maneuvers on the Economic Feasibility of Tidal Energy Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    8. Yang, Zhixue & Ren, Zhouyang & Li, Zhenwen & Xu, Yan & Li, Hui & Li, Wenyuan & Hu, Xiuqiong, 2022. "A comprehensive analysis method for levelized cost of energy in tidal current power generation farms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 982-991.
    9. Pearre, Nathaniel & Swan, Lukas, 2020. "Combining wind, solar, and in-stream tidal electricity generation with energy storage using a load-perturbation control strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    10. Fouz, D.M. & Carballo, R. & López, I. & González, X.P. & Iglesias, G., 2023. "A methodology for cost-effective analysis of hydrokinetic energy projects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    11. Qian, Peng & Feng, Bo & Liu, Hao & Tian, Xiange & Si, Yulin & Zhang, Dahai, 2019. "Review on configuration and control methods of tidal current turbines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 125-139.
    12. del Horno, L. & Segura, E. & Morales, R. & Somolinos, J.A., 2020. "Exhaustive closed loop behavior of an one degree of freedom first-generation device for harnessing energy from marine currents," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    13. Eva Segura & Rafael Morales & José A. Somolinos, 2019. "Increasing the Competitiveness of Tidal Systems by Means of the Improvement of Installation and Maintenance Maneuvers in First Generation Tidal Energy Converters—An Economic Argumentation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-27, June.
    14. Bianchi, Marco & Fernandez, Iratxe Fernandez, 2024. "A systematic methodology to assess local economic impacts of ocean renewable energy projects: Application to a tidal energy farm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    15. Vennell, Ross & Major, Robert & Zyngfogel, Remy & Beamsley, Brett & Smeaton, Malcolm & Scheel, Max & Unwin, Heni, 2020. "Rapid initial assessment of the number of turbines required for large-scale power generation by tidal currents," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1890-1905.
    16. Segura, E. & Morales, R. & Somolinos, J.A., 2018. "A strategic analysis of tidal current energy conversion systems in the European Union," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 527-551.
    17. Aguayo, Maichel M. & Fierro, Pablo E. & De la Fuente, Rodrigo A. & Sepúlveda, Ignacio A. & Figueroa, Dante M., 2021. "A mixed-integer programming methodology to design tidal current farms integrating both cost and benefits: A case study in the Chacao Channel, Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).

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