After the nuclear power plant accident in Japan, Korean government has set the national goal to produce the electricity by renewable energy sources up to 11% by 2035 which is not easy to achieve without ocean energy d...After the nuclear power plant accident in Japan, Korean government has set the national goal to produce the electricity by renewable energy sources up to 11% by 2035 which is not easy to achieve without ocean energy development. The demand on the clean energy supply has been increased recently and there are many renewable energy development projects and plans announced worldwide. The ocean energy can be produced from tidal current, wave, tidal barrage and ocean thermal sources. The first step is to estimate the resource assessment for each energy source. There are several assessment methods introduced from IEA (International Energy Agency), IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), EU ERENE (European Community for Renewable Energy), Bonn University, DLR (German Aerospace Center), etc.. Even these known methods have some sort of similarity; there are different definitions and classifications among them. In this paper, the four-step energy potentials are defined and introduced as theoretical, geographical, technical and market potentials. The theories for each step are presented for ocean energies together with clear definitions. As the tidal current energy research and development are active in Korea having very strong tidal current speed along the west and south coastal regions, the detail procedure for each step of energy potential assessment is introduced for tidal current energy. The paper will illustrate the case study of tidal current power assessment in western coastal region, South Korea with highlighting the key aspects in determining the resource potentials.展开更多
文摘After the nuclear power plant accident in Japan, Korean government has set the national goal to produce the electricity by renewable energy sources up to 11% by 2035 which is not easy to achieve without ocean energy development. The demand on the clean energy supply has been increased recently and there are many renewable energy development projects and plans announced worldwide. The ocean energy can be produced from tidal current, wave, tidal barrage and ocean thermal sources. The first step is to estimate the resource assessment for each energy source. There are several assessment methods introduced from IEA (International Energy Agency), IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), EU ERENE (European Community for Renewable Energy), Bonn University, DLR (German Aerospace Center), etc.. Even these known methods have some sort of similarity; there are different definitions and classifications among them. In this paper, the four-step energy potentials are defined and introduced as theoretical, geographical, technical and market potentials. The theories for each step are presented for ocean energies together with clear definitions. As the tidal current energy research and development are active in Korea having very strong tidal current speed along the west and south coastal regions, the detail procedure for each step of energy potential assessment is introduced for tidal current energy. The paper will illustrate the case study of tidal current power assessment in western coastal region, South Korea with highlighting the key aspects in determining the resource potentials.