Renewable energy technologies offer the promise of non-polluting alternatives to fossil and nuclear-fueled power plants to meet growing demand for electrical energy. Two emerging categories of renewable energy technologies, hydrokinetic and wave energy conversion devices, offer ways to tap the energy of moving water without impoundment (dams) or diversion required by many conventional hydroelectric facilities. These technologies include devices designed for deployment in natural streams, tidal estuaries, ocean currents, and constructed waterways, as well as devices designed to capture the energy of ocean waves.
On 26-28 October 2005, 54 representatives from government, non-governmental organizations, and private business met to:
- Identify the varieties of hydrokinetic energy and wave technology devices, their stages of development, and the projected cost to bring each to market;
- Identify where these technologies can best operate;
- Identify the potential environmental issues associated with these technologies and possible mitigation measures;
- Develop a list of research needs and/or practical solutions to address unresolved environmental issues.
Links to the Workshop Proceedings, which include detailed summaries of the presentations made and the discussions that followed, and to the full presentations made at the workshop are provided below.
Workshop Proceedings
Hydrokinetic & Wave Workshop Proceedings ( 1.0MB PDF)
Presentations
Day 1
- Hydrokinetic Energy "Lay of the Land" ( 1.4MB PDF)
- Hydrokinetic Technologies Technical & Environmental Issues Workshop ( 964kB PDF)
- Open-Center Turbine ( 790kB PDF)
- Hydromatrix - Innovative Solution For Low Impact Hydropower at Existing Engineered Structures ( 2.2MB PDF)
- Hydraulic Cross-Flow Turbines ( 3.5MB PDF)
- Ducted Turbines - Lunar Energy ( 4.7MB PDF)
- The Wave Dragon Case ( 3.8MB PDF)
- The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter ( 2.9MB PDF)
- Harvesting the Motion of the Ocean ( 1.5MB PDF)
- Heave Wave Devices ( 1.8MB PDF)
- Oscillating Water Column ( 655kB PDF)
Day 2
- Characteristices of Natural Streams ( 1.2MB PDF)
- Estuaries ( 361kB PDF)
- Near Shore Environmental Concerns ( 202kB PDF)
- Offshore Marine Resources ( 1.4MB PDF)
- Potential and Known Environmental Concerns ( 164kB PDF)
- Resource Questions Associated with Free Flow Axial Turbines ( 1.9MB PDF)
- Heave-surge Wave Environmetnal Considerations ( 2.2MB PDF)
- Heave Wave Device Environmetnal Concerns- Ocean Power Technologies ( 79kB PDF)
- Harvesting the Motion of the Ocean ( 2.2MB PDF)
Day 3
- Overview of EPRI Ocean Energy Program and its Future ( 1.0MB PDF)
- European Marine Energy Centre ( 2.4MB PDF)
- The Promise of Wave Power - OSU Ocean Wave Energy Extraction Research and Plans ( 1.4MB PDF)
- Environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidance for developers at the European Marine Energy Centre ( 415kB PDF)
Reports
Potential Impacts of Hydrokinetic and Wave Energy Conversion Technologies on Aquatic Environments ( 840kB PDF) April 2007
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