Sustainable Energy Engineering Fundamentals and Applications

The oceans possess a vast amount of energy in different ways. All these forms are studied under the generic term of ocean energy, which can also be referred to as marine energy or marine and hydrokinetic energy. Energy from the ocean can be harnessed through kinetic, potential, thermal, and osmotic energies with each form of energy encompassing a variety of technologies. Energy in kinetic and potential forms can come from tides or waves. Tidal energy can be categorized within itself into tidal barrages and tidal streams. Barrages work on the idea of converting potential energy to electricity, while streams allow making use of kinetic energy. Wave energy technologies also can operate based on converting kinetic or potential energy into mechanical and then electrical energy. The thermal energy potential that the oceans have is another significant resource. Solar radiation on the oceans causes the upper segments of the water to heat up, while the deeper segments where sunlight penetration gradually reaches minimal values are much cooler.