Ocean Energies: Environmental, Economic and Technological Aspects of Alternative Power Sources

Description

This timely volume provides a comprehensive review of current technology for all ocean energies. It opens with an analysis of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), with and without the use of an intermediate fluid. The historical and economic background is reviewed, and the geographical areas in which this energy could be utilized are pinpointed. The production of hydrogen as a side product, and environmental consequences of OTEC plants are looked at. The competitiveness of OTEC with conventional sources of energy is analysed. Optimisation, current research and development potential are also examined.Separate chapters provide a detailed examination of other ocean energy sources. The possible harnessing of solar ponds, ocean currents, and power derived from salinity differences is considered. There is a fascinating study of marine winds, and the question of using the ocean tides as a source of energy is examined, focussing on a number of tidal power plant projects, including data gathered from China, Australia, Great Britain, Korea and the USSR.Wave energy extraction has excited recent interest and activity, with a number of experimental pilot plants being built in northern Europe. This topic is discussed at length in view of its greater chance of implementation. Finally, geothermal and biomass energy are considered, and an assessment of their future is given.Each chapter contains bibliographic references. The author has also distinguished between energy schemes which might be valuable in less-industrialized regions of the world, but uneconomical in the developed countries. A large number of illustrations support the text.Every effort has been made to ensure that the book is readable and accessible for the specialist as well as the non-expert. It will be of particular interest to energy economists, engineers, geologists and oceanographers, and to environmentalists and environmental engineers.