Tethys Stories feature information on news, events, research, and projects relevant to wind and marine renewable energy development activities across the globe. Stories are contributed from individuals working in the field, and provide insight into advancing the energy industry in an environmentally responsible manner. If you are interested in providing content to be featured as a Tethys Story, please email tethys@pnnl.gov.
- The Severn Estuary has seen countless proposals for tidal barrage technology dating back as far as 1849. Barrages act as a sort of dam across a bay entrance, collecting tidal energy from low-head turbines. The most recent plans for a 8,640 MW barrage were shot down in 2010 after a two year feasiblity study deemed that there was "no strategic case" for building the project. This has set the stage… Read More
- Many of the Pacific Islands are highly dependant on expensive diesel for electricity, which creates a perfect opportunity for offshore renewable energy projects. The Aukland-based firm ARGOenvironmental has begun negotiations with the island of Tongatapu to install a 1-MW oscillating water column (OWC) that collects electricity from turbines driven by compressed air caused by waves. The goal is… Read More
- Tethys has been constructed on the Semantic MediaWiki (SMW) platform, which is the same open-source software that powers Wikipedia. A competition selects and features one website per month that best makes use of the SMW platform in a creative and effective way. Immediately after Tethys was nominated, it was selected as the "Wiki of the Month" for April 2013. Find out more at https://www.semantic-… Read More
- In addition to the new publicly accessible Annex IV information and data on Tethys, the recently released Final Annex IV Report is also available through Tethys. The Annex IV report contains three case studies of specific interactions of ocean energy devices with the marine environment that survey, gather and analyze the best available information in one coherent location. The report also… Read More
- Last September, The Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), based out Oregon State University with University of Washington as a partner, was awarded the first installment of funding for the Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC). PMEC will be the countries first utility-scale, grid connected test site for wave energy devices on the West Coast. Modeled after the successful… Read More
- Last month, the DOE Wind Program announced funding to seven Advanced Technology Demonstration offshore wind projects. Totaling $168 million over six years, the primary goal of these projects are to expedite the deployment of stronger, more efficient and innovative offshore wind power technologies performance while lowering costs. Additionally, the seven demonstrations will help address key… Read More
- Since this is a blog, blogging about another blog would seem to be fair game. As is the case for environmental MHK research, technology research is also published in a wide range of journals and conference proceedings. Consequently, it can be difficult to stay abreast of the latest technology developments. In January, 2012, Alison Labonte began to aggregate new publications in technology… Read More
- The SOWFIA project is a three year project funded by Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) that brings together ten partners from across Europe who share an interest in planning for wave farm developments. Wave energy is an innovative and developing technology that could contribute to meeting EU green energy goals and climate change mitigation targets. However, technological and administrative hurdles… Read More
- On October 15, 2012, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hosted the second Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Annex IV Experts’ Workshop in Dublin, Ireland on the environmental effects of marine renewable energy. The Annex IV expert workshop brought together 52 researchers, developers and regulators from 9 OES member nations to review the products of the… Read More
- Since 1980, the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) population has experienced a rapid decline, mainly due to fishing gear entanglements and collisions with shipping vessels. Prior to 1980 the whaling industry also took its toll on the whales; the North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) population size is now estimated to be 300-350 individuals and faces a serious threat of extinction.… Read More
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