Turning the Tides of Renewable Energy
Photo Credit: Donna Tomlinson via photopin (license)
When you think about renewable energy, where does your mind wander? Maybe you begin thinking about those gigantic wind turbines which require the expertise of experienced truck drivers as well as their escorts who sport flashing lights and “Oversize Load/Wide Load” signs. Or you may recall overhearing a story on the news involving the installation of solar panels to cut back on humanity’s carbon footprint.
Since clean energy has steadily evolved into a global topic of interest, wind and solar power have become two of the most discussed alternative energy subjects in the media today. However, there are other natural sources of power which are being routinely tested and utilized around the world.
In a study published last month, researchers from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom worked together to investigate the overall efficiency of wave energy in the Pacific Northwest. Seeing as this area of the United States also collects wind and solar power, the investigators were additionally eager to compare and contrast the capabilities of all three forms of renewable energy.
In the case of wind power, data collected by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) from 43 sites within Oregon revealed that ramp events, which generally indicate changes in high and low power, were extremely common.
Similarly, solar power encounters situations that may cause extreme variability as well. Complete observational reports from the University of Oregon’s Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory state that 12 of its sites¹ experience daily as well as seasonal fluctuations (e.g. cloud cover, precipitation) completely control how much or how little clean energy is produced.
Although wind and solar power are regarded as the prominent sources of alternative energy, waves are progressively becoming an additional, reputable supplier of power on the Pacific Northwest coast. Since the currents of the North Pacific Ocean are typically reported to be seasonably stable, some specialists believe that wave power is slightly more predictable than wind and solar power. Though, how is this possible?
By utilizing devices that transform tidal movements to electricity—otherwise known as wave energy converters—four buoy sites² from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) produced evidence confirming that, unlike wind and solar power, waves are able to continually generate power throughout the morning and night.
Although data suggests that wave power is relatively more reliable than wind and solar, there is still a great deal of unpredictability and uncertainty surrounding the world of renewable energy, especially in the case of forecasting, or predicting short- or long-term trends. However, as time progresses, new instruments may eventually allow scientists and engineers to better plan and prepare for supply and demand fluctuations.
So, what’s the bottom line about wave power in relation to wind and solar power in the Pacific Northwest?
Even though all three of these renewable energy sources are variable at times, the movement of the tides never completely stop— making wave energy stable and therefore somewhat more predictable than wind and solar power.
Author’s Note: One might also speculate that combining the efforts of all three may lead to an even brighter (and cleaner!) future.
Bonus Material
Here is an interesting video on how ScottishPower—an energy provider to over 5 million households and businesses across the UK—created a giant, undersea turbine in the coastal waters off the Orkney Islands in Scotland to produce electricity in 2012.
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¹ in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming
² off the coasts of Washington and Oregon
Source: Reikard, Gordon, Bryson Robertson, Jean-Raymond Bidlot, “Combining wave energy with wind and solar: Short-term forecasting”, Renewable Energy, Volume 81, September 2015, Pages 442-456, ISSN 0960-1481, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.03.032.
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