Annual Report 2017
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Task 13 - Tidal Energy Conversion Modelling Verification and Validation

BACKGROUND
There are many modelling tools developed during recent years for ocean energy resource representation at a macro level. However, there is still lack of common understanding in such predictions to achieve detailed assessment of tidal renewable energy resources at a macro and micro level of a specific site. Moreover, such information about the energy potential and the practical extractable energy are important facts towards major decision making towards sustainable energy harvesting.

 

 

COORDINATOR
Srikanth Narasimalu, Singapore

 

Presently assessments are made using computational modelling for micro site assessment, however there is a lack of consensus among modelling community in the type of modelling assumptions, types of software and incoming data requirements. This results in lack of credibility of the final resource information predicted from the computational models.

A common effort is required to provide useful guidelines for tidal resource mapping through identifying the present practices and to further compare and contrast the various computational tools for resource mapping to identify the correct approach. This could be achieved through cooperation among an international network of tidal resource mapping experts to discuss and identify a common methodology and verify through few case studies to arrive at guidelines report to benefit the tidal energy adopters and enhance the credibility of modelling practice.

 

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this Task is to:

  • Survey numerical modelling approach used in tidal-current based energy projects
  • Verification and validation of modelling tools & methodology against specific case studies
  • Such code to code comparison and detailed methodology studies is expected to provide:
  • New set of guidelines, standards which will mitigate uncertainties and confusions involved in modelling ocean renewable energy systems.
  • Validated numerical methods and standardization of energy yield estimation
  • Reducing risk in project planning and execution of tidal array farms
  • Improved tidal energy yield estimate
  • Incorporating tidal turbine performance data in the energy yield estimate for more accurate feasibility studies in earlier project stages
  • Recommendation of further improvement areas required for the suggested numerical models

A first webinar was organised and hosted by Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), Singapore on 30 June 2017. There were attendees from various international tidal energy working teams from all over the world. The main goal of this workshop is to prepare a Tidal Energy Resource Modelling Guideline report through the study of the various factors affecting the result of the tidal energy resource prediction simulations towards a numerical code-to-code comparison. The workshop was planned as a joint exercise effort to perform an open discussion on the various modelling practices in tidal energy resources.

As great multitude of tools and techniques are used to determine the amount of tidal resources and to quantify the resources available in different parts of the world, establishing a standard in extractable resource modelling can pave the way in promoting the adoption of tidal energy among the various stakeholders, as it can provide confidence in the amount of available resources.