The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments
<p>The potential of tidal stream energy in the UK is widely acknowledged to be significant, however, real-world constraints greatly limit the viable extraction of energy. Multiple lease sites for development have been withdrawn or remain in testing phases since their agreement, due to financia...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1811140408894291968 |
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| author | Patel, MD |
| author2 | Adcock, T |
| author_facet | Adcock, T Patel, MD |
| author_sort | Patel, MD |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The potential of tidal stream energy in the UK is widely acknowledged to be significant, however, real-world constraints greatly limit the viable extraction of energy. Multiple lease sites for development have been withdrawn or remain in testing phases since their agreement, due to financial and technical challenges. This evidences the need to strategically define new areas for development based on refined assessments and inform the development of arrays at sites by identifying and overcoming the challenges and constraints.</p>
<p>To investigate the challenges of quantifying the tidal stream energy resource and examine a range of parameters affecting the resource, a low order idealised channel model is adopted. Different channel characteristics are applied to consider multiple case studies and blockage-corrected blade element momentum theory is used to represent turbine performance, also adopted in higher order modelling. The investigation highlights the inter-dependence of key parameters affecting tidal stream energy resource assessments, much like the constraints limiting the resource. Findings from the low order model inform the impact of modelling assumptions necessary for higher order modelling.</p>
<p>The use of a 2-D model enabled the investigation of bathymetry as a limiting practical constraint and the implication of the spatial variability of tidal stream energy at a site, which informed the development of a novel framework for designing arrays of homogeneous and heterogeneous turbine specifications (diameter and rated speed). Comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous arrays in the Inner Sound highlights that adopting heterogeneous designs (with diameters of 5 - 20 m and rated speeds of 1.5 - 2.5 m/s) can increase power per turbine, while deploying significantly fewer turbines. The approach maximises usage of a site, whilst allowing the maximum allowable diameter of turbine to be deployed in areas, and exploits the spatial variation of the resource across a site by tailoring turbines to operate at appropriate rated speeds for a target capacity factor.</p>
<p>Finally, the framework is extended to identify multiple, independent, heterogeneous arrays across the Pentland Firth. The successive identification of arrays presents a feasible incremental development strategy for the Pentland Firth and minimises interference between arrays by accounting for how the resource responds to presence of arrays. A range of development options are proposed, based on different priorities. The tidal stream energy resource is assessed to be within 1 - 1.8 GW in the Pentland Firth with the consideration of real-world constraints, based on different development strategies and priorities.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:21:31Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:0f6c1229-5d81-4d73-bf4a-8bc567fd3d94 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:21:31Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:0f6c1229-5d81-4d73-bf4a-8bc567fd3d942024-08-13T10:53:15ZThe impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessmentsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:0f6c1229-5d81-4d73-bf4a-8bc567fd3d94Tidal powerEngineeringEnglishHyrax Deposit2024Patel, MDAdcock, TSmyth, AAngeloudis, A<p>The potential of tidal stream energy in the UK is widely acknowledged to be significant, however, real-world constraints greatly limit the viable extraction of energy. Multiple lease sites for development have been withdrawn or remain in testing phases since their agreement, due to financial and technical challenges. This evidences the need to strategically define new areas for development based on refined assessments and inform the development of arrays at sites by identifying and overcoming the challenges and constraints.</p> <p>To investigate the challenges of quantifying the tidal stream energy resource and examine a range of parameters affecting the resource, a low order idealised channel model is adopted. Different channel characteristics are applied to consider multiple case studies and blockage-corrected blade element momentum theory is used to represent turbine performance, also adopted in higher order modelling. The investigation highlights the inter-dependence of key parameters affecting tidal stream energy resource assessments, much like the constraints limiting the resource. Findings from the low order model inform the impact of modelling assumptions necessary for higher order modelling.</p> <p>The use of a 2-D model enabled the investigation of bathymetry as a limiting practical constraint and the implication of the spatial variability of tidal stream energy at a site, which informed the development of a novel framework for designing arrays of homogeneous and heterogeneous turbine specifications (diameter and rated speed). Comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous arrays in the Inner Sound highlights that adopting heterogeneous designs (with diameters of 5 - 20 m and rated speeds of 1.5 - 2.5 m/s) can increase power per turbine, while deploying significantly fewer turbines. The approach maximises usage of a site, whilst allowing the maximum allowable diameter of turbine to be deployed in areas, and exploits the spatial variation of the resource across a site by tailoring turbines to operate at appropriate rated speeds for a target capacity factor.</p> <p>Finally, the framework is extended to identify multiple, independent, heterogeneous arrays across the Pentland Firth. The successive identification of arrays presents a feasible incremental development strategy for the Pentland Firth and minimises interference between arrays by accounting for how the resource responds to presence of arrays. A range of development options are proposed, based on different priorities. The tidal stream energy resource is assessed to be within 1 - 1.8 GW in the Pentland Firth with the consideration of real-world constraints, based on different development strategies and priorities.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Tidal power Engineering Patel, MD The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title | The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title_full | The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title_fullStr | The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title_short | The impact of real-world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| title_sort | impact of real world constraints on tidal stream energy resource assessments |
| topic | Tidal power Engineering |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patelmd theimpactofrealworldconstraintsontidalstreamenergyresourceassessments AT patelmd impactofrealworldconstraintsontidalstreamenergyresourceassessments |