Print this page Environmental Impacts of Extracting Energy from Waves, Tides, Currents and the Ocean
Mark P. Rossow, PhD, PE Retired
Course Outline
This six-hour online course discusses (1) the potential environmental impacts of marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies, (2) options to prevent adverse environmental impacts, (3) the potential role of monitoring and adaptive management, and (4) the necessary components of an adaptive management program. As few marine and hydrokinetic devices have been deployed, there have been correspondingly few opportunities to assess their direct impacts. Based on the available information, however, as well as the observed impacts of other activities that may share some characteristics with the deployment and operation of marine and hydrokinetic technologies, this course describes nine types of environmental effects that may occur and describes how monitoring and adaptive management principles might be employed to evaluate and mitigate those effects. There is no conclusive evidence that marine and hydrokinetic technologies will actually cause significant environmental impacts, and the possible effects detailed in this course should serve to highlight areas where further information and research is needed.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Learning about alteration of currents and waves caused by hydrokinetic technologies;
- Be introduced to the issue of alteration of bottom substrates, sediment transport, and sediment deposition;
- Learning about the changes in benthic (bottom of the water body) habitats;
- Understanding the principles and effects on animals of underwater noise;
- Understanding the effects on animals of electromagnetic fields;
- Understanding the need for care in introducing chemicals such as oils or anti-fouling coatings into the marine environment;
- Becoming aware of the danger of injuries and fatalities related to the striking of animals by moving blades;
- Be introduced to the side effects of the need to transfer large quantities of water between ocean depths in ocean thermal energy conversion; and
- Learning about mitigation strategies for the different types of energy extraction devices.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers concerned with the design and construction of marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies.
Benefit to Attendees
A person completing this course will be familiar with and able to apply procedures for recognizing and mitigating potential detrimental environmental impacts caused by devices extracting energy from hydrokinetic and ocean thermal sources.
Course Introduction
Broadly categorized as “marine and hydrokinetic” energy systems, a new generation of water power technologies offers the possibility of generating electricity from water without the need for dams and diversions. There are numerous plans, both in the United States and internationally, to develop these energy conversion technologies. However, because the concepts are new, few devices have been deployed and tested in rivers and oceans. Even fewer environmental studies of these technologies have been carried out, and thus potential environmental effects remain mostly speculative.
Course Content
This course is based on the U. S. Department of Energy document, “Report to Congress on the Potential Environmental Effects of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Technologies,” December, 2009.
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
Course Summary
Few marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies have been tested at full scale, and it is therefore difficult to resolve all of the uncertainties about their specific environmental effects. Relevant information is available in the scientific literature on potential effects, some of which reference other developments in marine environments such as oil and gas wells and undersea cables. Assessment methods, such as ecological risk assessment, are available to identify and evaluate adverse impacts, and mitigation practices have been established to address many of these risks. Quantitative environmental impact assessment techniques, combined with environmental effects monitoring, mechanistic and predictive modeling, and adaptive management are tools that can be applied to reduce risks and uncertainties of impacts.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
http://energy.gov/eere/water/downloads/report-congress-potential-environmental-effects-marine-and-hydrokinetic-energy
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
