Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Ireland’s tidal energy resource; An assessment of a site in the Bulls

Mouth and the Shannon Estuary using measured data
Fergal O’Rourke a,b,⇑, Fergal Boyle a, Anthony Reynolds a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
b
Department of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The issues associated with Ireland’s over reliance on fossil fuels to meet energy demands have sparked an
Received 18 February 2014 interest in renewable energy. Renewable energy resources typically are intermittent and vary signifi-
Accepted 29 June 2014 cantly in energy intensity. Tidal energy however has the advantage of predictability over large time scales
Available online 14 August 2014
and high power densities. A study of Ireland’s tidal–current-energy resource has identified several viable
sites. As part of this resource assessment, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers were installed at two loca-
Keywords: tions along Ireland’s west coast, at a site in the Bulls Mouth and the Shannon Estuary. The Acoustic Dopp-
Tidal current energy
ler Current Profilers measured tidal current speed and direction at 30 min intervals over a 30 day period
Assessment
Ireland
at a range of depths through the water column. This is the first time the measured data appears in the
ADCP literature as it has only recently been made public. This paper presents tidal current speed and direction,
frequency of occurrence of speed, tidal roses at several depths through the water column, and a compar-
ison of theoretical tidal–current-speed profiles with measured data for a site in the Bulls Mouth and in
the Shannon Estuary. The paper compares power density at both sites over a lunar month and also pro-
poses a best fit power law exponent with the measured data through the water column. Finally, the paper
presents an energetic performance comparison for a tidal current turbine operating at both sites. The data
presented in this paper can be used in the design process to estimate the hydrodynamic and structural
performance of a tidal current turbine operating under real-life conditions. The data can also be used
to assess different control strategies and to design a tidal current turbine to suit the site-specific
characteristics.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction which utilises tidal currents; however, this technology is still at an

early stage of development [6,7].
Ireland’s over dependence on the combustion of fossil fuels to Sites where tidal–current-energy extraction is feasible are
meet energy demands has led to several energy related issues. generally found along coastlines, inlets, channels and between
These issues include security of supply, climate change, and fluctu- headlands, as in these areas the tidal current speed is generally
ating costs. The effect of the outlined issues has forced political greater than tidal current speeds in the open ocean. When assess-
leaders to consider alternative energy sources, and in particular ing the suitability of a site for tidal–current-energy extraction the
renewable energies [1]. Most renewable energy sources are unpre- tidal current speed is the main determinant [8]. The frequency of
dictable in nature and vary significantly in intensity [2]. Tidal occurrence of speed is an excellent indicator as to the annual
energy has the advantage of predictability over large time scales energy output which can be achieved.
and, as a result, is an excellent choice as a base-load energy supply A tidal–current-energy resource assessment was conducted for
[3–5]. Recent research and development efforts in tidal energy Ireland in 2004 [9]. The assessment employed a 2-D numerical
extraction have been focused on tidal–current-turbine technology model for tidal current prediction, and by applying theoretical,
technical, practical, accessible and viable limitations 11 sites were
identified as viable for tidal–current-energy extraction. Some of
the identified sites boast tidal current speeds close to 4 m/s [10].
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Electronic and Mechanical
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) were installed at two
Engineering, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland. Tel.:
+353 4293 70200x2695. locations along Ireland’s west coast, in the Bulls Mouth and the
E-mail address: [email protected] (F. O’Rourke). Shannon Estuary. The purpose of their installation was to validate

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.06.089
0196-8904/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734 727

the 2-D numerical model of the tidal current around Ireland only done for the purpose of mapping fish species and spawning areas,
and, as a result, the measured data has only recently been made and for the benefit of shipping. Relatively little work has been pub-
public. lished in the interest of tidal–current-energy resource assessment.
This is the first time this measured data has appeared in the
literature. This paper presents tidal current speed and direction, 2.2. Resource assessment
frequency of occurrence of speed, tidal roses at several depths
through the water column and a comparison of theoretical The currently-accepted tidal–current-energy resource assess-
tidal–current-speed profiles with measured data for both sites. ment was completed by Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland
An analysis of the measured data is also presented which includes (SEAI), an organisation set up by the Irish government with the
a comparison of theoretical tidal current speed profiles with objective of promoting the use of sustainable energy, and
measured data, the power density and an energetic performance published in a report entitled Tidal and Current Energy Resources
comparison. The data can be used in the design process to model in Ireland in 2004. As part of this resource assessment, RPS Kirk
the hydrodynamic and structural performance of a tidal–current- McClure Morton (UK), an engineering and environmental consul-
turbine design under real-life conditions. The data can also be used tancy group, developed a 2-D numerical model of the tidal currents
to assess the effect of different control strategies e.g. the use of around Ireland. The numerical model was developed using Mike 21
pitch and yaw control. Also a tidal current turbine could be software. Mike 21, developed by the Danish Hydrographic
designed to suit the site-specific characteristics of the Bulls Mouth Institute, is an engineering software package designed for the
and the Shannon Estuary. The data may also be used for arranging simulation of fluid flows, waves, sediments and ecology in rivers,
the site-specific layout of tidal current turbines. estuaries, seas and coastal regions. The 2-D numerical model pre-
dicted the tidal current surface speeds and was validated using
2. Tidal energy in Ireland measured data from two purposely-installed ADCPs. These were
installed by AquaFact International Services Ltd., one at a site in
2.1. Introduction the Bulls Mouth and the other at a site in the Shannon Estuary.
In the resource assessment the theoretical tidal–current-energy
Ireland is situated on the east of the Atlantic ocean with a coast- resource was first identified. This is the gross tidal energy content
line approximately 7500 km long [11,12]. Along this coastline are of the tidal current flow within a strip encircling Ireland. The
numerous inlets and islands between which there are channels landward boundary of the strip was taken at the point where the
which are ideal for tidal–current-energy extraction due to the high water depth reaches 10 m and the seaward boundary was taken
tidal current speeds. Strong tidal currents are common along the at the 12 nautical mile territorial limit from the coast. Within this
north and east coasts and are particularly energetic entering the strip the numerically-predicted peak spring-tide surface speeds
Irish Sea from the St. Georges Channel and the North Channel [10]. were depth-averaged using a 1/7th power law to calculate the
Fig. 1 illustrates the oceans around Ireland and the direction of the mid-depth tidal–current speeds. The mean tidal–current power,
flood [13–15]. The bathymetry and hydrography of Ireland’s coast- Pmean, per unit area was then calculated using [25]:
line influences the local tidal currents. The kinetic flux density is 1
an excellent indicator of the tidal current energy resource available Pmean ¼ qK s K n U 3peak ðW m2 Þ ð1Þ
2
at a site which is proportional to the fluid density and the cube of its
where q is the density of seawater, Ks is the speed availability factor
speed [16–19]. Therefore the speed is the most significant factor
(0.424), Kn is the neap/spring factor (0.57) and Upeak is the peak
when deciding if a site is feasible for energy extraction [20–23]. Most
spring-tide mid-depth speed.
of the tidal–current-flow research along the coastline to-date was
In order to calculate the theoretical extractable tidal–current
energy, a turbine power coefficient, C Pmax , of 0.59, a turbine spacing
array layout and a turbine cross-sectional area based on the depth of
the water column were applied. The turbine spacing array layout
assumed a lateral spacing of five diameters and an upstream/down-
stream spacing of 10–20 diameters. The diameter of the rotor was
assumed to be 0.7 times the depth of the water column. The theoret-
ical tidal–current-energy resource amounted to 230 TW h/y. The
technical tidal–current-energy resource was assessed by applying
technical limitations to the theoretical resource. A turbine efficiency
of 0.39 was applied and locations with tidal current speeds below
1.5 m/s were excluded [24]. It was assumed that tidal current energy
technology will not operate effectively at tidal current speeds below
1.5 m/s. The technical tidal–current-energy resource was calculated
as 10.46 TW h/y. The practical tidal–current-energy resource was
subsequently obtained by applying practical limitations to the
technical tidal–current-energy resource. Only sites with a water
depth of between 20 and 40 m were included in the resource
assessment, while areas such as shipping lanes and restricted areas
were excluded. After the application of the practical limitations 11
sites remained and are shown in Fig. 2 [26]. The practical tidal–
current-energy resource amounted to 2.633TW h/y. The accessible
tidal–current-energy resource was calculated by applying accessi-
ble limitations to the practical tidal–current-energy resource. The
accessible tidal–current-energy resource limitations had no effect
Fig. 1. The oceans around Ireland and the tidal current direction during a flood tidal on the practical tidal–current-energy resource and, as a result, the
movement [24]. accessible tidal–current-energy resource also amounted to
728 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734

Fig. 2. Location of the 11 sites identified in the practical tidal–current-energy resource assessment for Ireland including the two sites at which measurements were made: the
Bulls Mouth and the Shannon Estuary [24].

2.633 TW h/y. The viable tidal–current-energy resource is the Table 1

resource obtained after applying commercial limitations to the Location of the two ADCPs along Ireland’s west coast and their installation period.
accessible tidal–current-energy resource. In order to calculate
Site Latitude Longitude Installation period
the viable tidal–current-energy resource an economic model devel- (deg N) (deg W)
oped by Marine Current Turbine Ltd. was used. The economic model
Bulls Mouth 54° 00.5980 9° 55.2040 25th June 2004–27th
calculated the optimum size of a turbine for a site based on July 2004
water depth, tidal current speed, turbine costs, etc. From this model Shannon Estuary 52° 35.6560 9° 31.3080 24th June 2004–28th
the viable tidal–current-energy resource was estimated at July 2004
0.915 TW h/y [24].
relatively flat, consisting of rough sand with the occasional larger
2.3. Measurement instrumentation and site description boulder scattered over the seabed. The ADCPs were bottom frame
mounted and hardwired to a monitoring station which recorded
A Teledyne RDI, Workhorse Sentinel 600 kHz ADCP was used to the data. The ADCPs measured tidal current speed and direction
measure the tidal current speed and direction [27]. The accuracy of at 30 min intervals over a 30 day period. Tidal–current-speed and
the ADCP measured speed is ±0.003 m/s and the default speed direction data was recorded from a depth of two to 10 m in 1 m
range is ±5 m/s up to a maximum of ±20 m/s. The number of cell depth intervals. Measurements were not made outside of this
depths available range from 1 to 255 with a ping rate of up to interval. Once the ADCP was retrieved, the binary data was pro-
10 Hz. The compass (fluxgate type) includes a built-in field calibra- cessed using the RDI software WinADCP in order to output the
tion feature and has an accuracy of ±2°; however, this accuracy can speed and direction of the tidal currents.
be improved to <±1° after calibration.
ADCPs were installed by AquaFact International Services Ltd. at 3. Results and analysis
two locations on Ireland’s west coast, at a site in the Bulls Mouth
and at a site in the Shannon Estuary. The Bulls Mouth and Shannon 3.1. Tidal current speed
Estuary are shown in Fig. 2. Table 1 gives information on the two
ADCPs’ location and their installation period. Both sites have a Figs. 3 and 4 show the variation of the mid-depth tidal–current
water depth of approximately 14 m. The seabed at both sites is speed over a lunar month for a site in the Bulls Mouth and in the
 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734 729

1.2 1.2

0.9

Speed (m/s)
1.0
0.6

0.8 Spring tide 0.3

Speed (m/s)

0.0
170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270
0.6
Time (Hours)
Neap tide

Direction from North ( )

0.4 90

o
360
0.2
270

0.0 180
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (Hours) 90
170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270
Fig. 3. Measured tidal–current speed at mid-depth of the water column over a Time (Hours)
lunar month for a site in the Bulls Mouth.
Fig. 5. Measured tidal–current speed and direction at mid-depth of the water
column at spring tide for a site in the Bulls Mouth.

2.5

Spring tide 0.6

2.0
Speed (m/s)

0.3
1.5
Speed (m/s)

Neap tide

0.0
350 360 370 380 390 400 410 420 430 440
1.0
Time (Hours)
Direction from North ( )
o

0.5 90

360

0.0 270
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (Hours) 180

Fig. 4. Measured tidal–current speed at mid-depth of the water column over a 90

lunar month for a site in the Shannon Estuary. 350 360 370 380 390 400 410 420 430 440
Time (Hours)

Shannon Estuary respectively. The overall variation of tidal current Fig. 6. Measured tidal–current speed and direction at mid-depth of the water
column at neap tide for a site in the Bulls Mouth.
speed with respect to time is important when accessing the avail-
ability of tidal energy during daily periods. The two sites experi-
ence contrasting peak spring-tide speeds. A peak spring-tide by a tidal current turbine will vary significantly between spring
speed of 1.01 m/s was recorded at the site in the Bulls Mouth over tide and neap tide and on a daily basis between the peak tidal flow
the lunar month in comparison with a peak spring-tide speed of and slack water. Power averaging is often used to remove the daily
2.02 m/s at the site in the Shannon Estuary. Comparing both sites, tidal current speed variation. The power averaging approach given
it can be seen that the site in the Shannon Estuary is much more in [17] can be used to find the maximum average power that can
attractive for tidal–current-energy extraction. be extracted for a tidal channel which is driven by multiple tidal
Figs. 5 and 6 show both the tidal current speed and direction at constituents.
mid-depth of the water column in the Bulls Mouth at spring and
neap tide respectively. Figs. 7 and 8 show the corresponding data 3.2. Tidal–current-speed frequency of occurrence
for the site in the Shannon Estuary. The speed and direction at
the site in the Bulls Mouth vary significantly throughout the dura- A frequency distribution analysis was conducted on the mea-
tion of spring and neap tide. Comparing the site in the Bulls Mouth sured tidal–current-speed data for the two sites to obtain an
with the site in the Shannon Estuary, it can be seen that the tidal understanding of the size of energy resource. The results of this
current speed and direction in the Shannon Estuary are much more analysis are presented in Figs. 9 and 10 where the frequency of
predictable. occurrence of mid-depth speed over a lunar month for a site in
For both sites, there is a notable difference in the tidal current the Bulls Mouth and the Shannon Estuary respectively are shown.
speeds over the spring/neap cycle. The tidal cycle of the Shannon It can be seen from the two histograms that the higher speeds
Estuary and the Bulls Mouth are dominated by the principal M2 occur more frequently at the site in the Shannon Estuary than at
and S2 tidal constituents [28]. As a result, the power generated the site in the Bulls Mouth.
730 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734

2.5 0.10
2.0 0.09
Speed (m/s)

Normalised Frequency of Occurance

1.5
0.08
1.0
0.07
0.5
0.06
0.0
200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290
0.05
Time (Hours)
0.04
Direction from North ( )
o

300 0.03
250
0.02
200
150 0.01
100
0.00
50 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0 Mid-Depth Speed (m/s)
200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290
Time (Hours) Fig. 9. Frequency of occurrence of mid-depth speed over a lunar month for a site in
the Bulls Mouth.
Fig. 7. Measured tidal–current speed and direction at mid-depth of the water
column at spring tide for a site in the Shannon Estuary.
0.050

1.5 Normalised Frequency of Occurance 0.045

0.040
Speed (m/s)

1.0
0.035

0.5 0.030

0.025
0.0
360 370 380 390 400 410 420 430 440 450 460 0.020
Time (Hours)
0.015
Direction from North ( )
o

300 0.010
250 0.005
200
0.000
150 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
100 Mid-Depth Speed (m/s)
50
Fig. 10. Frequency of occurrence of mid-depth speed over a lunar month for a site
0
360 370 380 390 400 410 420 430 440 450 460 in the Shannon Estuary.
Time (Hours)

Fig. 8. Measured tidal–current speed and direction at mid-depth of the water 3.4. Tidal–current-speed profiles
column at neap tide for a site in the Shannon Estuary.
Numerical simulations of the tidal current are often conducted
3.3. Tidal roses to get a better understanding of the typical speeds which may
occur at a particular site. These numerical simulations typically
In order to obtain a complete understanding of the tidal charac- calculate the surface speed. The theoretical tidal-energy resource
teristics of a site tidal roses were created from the measured data is then calculated using a power law or log law approximation to
at depths of two, four, six, eight and 10 m for the site in the Bulls calculate the speed at the depth of interest in the water column.
Mouth and the Shannon Estuary. A tidal rose provides information However, other approximations, given in [29], can be used to cal-
on the occurrence of a range of speeds and their corresponding culate the tidal current speed profile. The power law represents a
flow directions. The circles drawn on the tidal roses show the fre- rudimentary model for the variation in tidal current speed through
quency of occurrence of speed and direction of the tidal current. the water column and is given as:
Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the tidal roses for a site in the Bulls Mouth
 a
and the Shannon Estuary over a lunar month respectively. Fig. 11 z
uðzÞ ¼ uzr ð2Þ
shows that the tidal current primarily flows from the north and zr
south at the site in the Bulls Mouth. At this site the direction of
the tidal currents stay relatively constant from the north and vary where u(z) is the tidal current speed, z is the height above the sea-
from the dominant south direction to a south–south-east direction bed, uzr is the reference tidal current speed, zr is the reference height
with an increase in depth. Fig. 12 shows that the tidal current pri- above the seabed and a is the power law exponent. The exponent a
marily flows from the east and the west–south-west at the site in can vary significantly from site-to-site. The main parameters which
the Shannon Estuary. Interestingly the directions of the tidal cur- affect a are the tidal current speed and the seabed roughness, and
rents do not vary considerably through the depth of the water col- several empirical methods can be used to calculate a. A value of
umn over the lunar month. 1/7 is a typical value for the power law exponent; however, this
 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734 731

2m 4m
NORTH NORTH

20% 30%

15%
20%
10%
10%
5%

WEST EAST WEST EAST

SOUTH
SOUTH

Speed m/s
6m
NORTH 1.1 - 1.2
1.0 - 1.1
30%
0.9 - 1.0
20% 0.8 - 0.9
10% 0.7 - 0.8
0.6 - 0.7
WEST EAST
0.5 - 0.6
0.4 - 0.5
0.3 - 0.4
0.2 - 0.3

SOUTH 0.1 - 0.2

0.0 - 0.1

8m 10 m
NORTH NORTH

30% 30%

20% 20%

10% 10%

WEST EAST WEST EAST

SOUTH SOUTH

Fig. 11. Tidal roses of measured tidal–current data over a lunar month at a site in the Bulls Mouth for five depths.

may not be a best fit for all sites. The speed profile can also be cal- the data does not follow any speed profile. The effect of the seabed
culated using the log law: roughness coupled with low tidal current speeds is shown to have
0  1 a significant effect on the tidal current speeds throughout the
ln zz0 water column. These effects must be considered when deciding
uðzÞ ¼ uzr @  A ð3Þ on the suitability of a site for tidal current energy extraction.
ln zz0r Therefore any estimations of the tidal–current-energy resource
using a power law or log law may yield inaccurate values.
where the terms are as before and z0 represents the seabed rough- Figs. 15 and 16 show a comparison of theoretical peak spring-
ness. Table 2 gives values for seabed roughness for various seabed tide and neap-tide speed profiles with measured data for a site in
conditions. the Shannon Estuary respectively. Comparing the different speed
Figs. 13 and 14 show a comparison of theoretical peak spring- profiles with the measured tidal–current-speed data as shown in
tide and neap-tide speed profiles with measured data for a site in Figs. 15, it can be seen that the measured speed data follow a power
the Bulls Mouth respectively. The measured tidal–current speeds law profile with an exponent a = 1/4. Using the typical exponent
do not follow any theoretical speed profile and varies significantly value a = 1/7 will give an inaccurate tidal–current-energy resource
through the water column. It can also be seen from both graphs assessment at this site. However, as shown in Fig. 16, the measured
that the 1/10th power law fits closely to the log law using a seabed data only follows a power law profile with an exponent a = 1/4 at a
roughness of z0 = 0.3 mm based on a seabed description of mud/ height above the seabed greater than 7 m. Furthermore, the mea-
sand/gravel. The importance of the measured tidal–current speed sured tidal current speeds below a 7 m height above the seabed
through the water column can be noted from Figs. 13 and 14, as do not follow a power law because of the interaction between the
732 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734

2m 4m
NORTH NORTH

40% 45%

30%
30%
20%
15%
10%

WEST EAST WEST EAST

SOUTH SOUTH

Speed m/s
6m
NORTH 2.2 - 2.4
2.0 - 2.2
45%
1.8 - 2.0
30% 1.6 - 1.8
15% 1.4 - 1.6
1.2 - 1.4
WEST EAST
1.0 - 1.2
0.8 - 1.0
0.6 - 0.8
0.4 - 0.6

SOUTH
0.2 - 0.4
0.0 - 0.2

8m 10 m
NORTH NORTH

45% 45%

30% 30%

15% 15%

WEST EAST WEST EAST

SOUTH SOUTH

Fig. 12. Tidal roses of measured tidal–current data over a lunar month at a site in the Shannon Estuary for five depths.

Table 2
Seabed description and roughness for various seabed conditions [30]. 12
Measured Data
Seabed description Seabed roughness, z0 (mm)
1/3rd Power Law
Silt/sand 0.02 10 1/4th Power Law
Sand/shell 0.3
1/5th Power Law
Height Above Seabed (m)

Mud/sand/gravel 0.3
Mud/sand 0.7 8 1/7th Power Law
Rippled sand 6.0 1/10th Power Law
Mud 0.2 Log Law
Sand/gravel 0.3 6
Unrippled sand 0.4
Gravel 3.0
4

2
water and the seabed. This turbulent effect decreases with height
above the seabed. For both sites, the log law profile with a value
for seabed roughness of z0 = 0.3 mm based on a seabed description 0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20
of mud/sand/gravel has shown to differ significantly from the
Speed (m/s)
measured data and as a result is not a good fit to estimate the speed
distribution through the water column to achieve an accurate tidal– Fig. 13. Comparison of theoretical peak spring-tide speed profiles with measured
current-energy resource assessment. data at a site in the Bulls Mouth.
 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734 733

12 12
Measured Data Measured Data
1/3rd Power Law 1/3rd Power Law
10 1/4th Power Law 10 1/4th Power Law
1/5th Power Law 1/5th Power Law
Height Above Seabed (m)

Height Above Seabed (m)

th
8 1/7 Power Law 8 1/7th Power Law
1/10th Power Law 1/10th Power Law
Log Law Log Law
6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40
Speed (m/s) Speed (m/s)
Fig. 14. Comparison of theoretical neap-tide speed profiles with measured data at a Fig. 16. Comparison of theoretical neap-tide speed profiles with measured data at a
site in the Bulls Mouth. site in the Shannon Estuary.

3.5. Power density

Table 3
Mid-depth peak spring-tide speed, mid-depth mean speed and power density over a
Table 3 shows the mid-depth peak spring-tide speed, the mid-
lunar month for a site in the Bulls Mouth and in the Shannon Estuary.
depth mean speed and the power density over a lunar month for
both sites. The instantaneous power density, PA, of a tidal current Site Mid-depth peak Mid-depth Power
spring-tide speed mean speed density
flow is calculated using:
(m/s) (m/s) (W m2)
1 Bulls Mouth 1.01 0.2 10
PA ¼ qU 3 ð4Þ
2 Shannon Estuary 2.02 0.83 521

where q is the density of seawater and U is the tidal current speed.

Power density is often used as an indicator of tidal–current-energy
Table 4
hotspots [4]. The power density for each site was calculated by tak-
Technical data for the SERG tidal current turbine with fixed pitch and variable yaw
ing the mean of the distribution of instantaneous power densities. It [15,35].
is clear from Table 3 that the power density for the site in the Shan-
Site Bulls Mouth Shannon Estuary
non Estuary is significantly greater than the power density for the
site in the Bulls Mouth. Rated speed (m/s) 0.5 1.75
Rated power (kW) 2 83
Hub height (m) 7 7
3.6. Tidal energy output comparison for the two sites Rotor diameter (m) 10 10
Power coefficient 0.39 0.39
As described above, speed and direction measurements recorded Power-law profile 1/4 1/4

at the Bulls Mouth and the Shannon Estuary were used to determine
the annual energy output of a tidal current turbine operating at each tidal current turbine and the two sites. This analysis assumed that
site. Table 4 illustrates the technical and operating data for the SERG the tidal current turbine at each site had a fixed pitch and variable
yaw design arrangement. Also, the rated speed and rated power of
12 the tidal current turbine was varied to obtain the maximum annual
Measured Data energy output for each site [31,32]. The analysis showed that, using
1/3rd Power Law the measured data and the SERG tidal current turbine technical
10 1/4th Power Law specification, the annual energy output calculated from the site in
1/5th Power Law the Shannon Estuary and the Bulls Mouth was 137.39 MW h and
Height Above Seabed (m)

8 1/7th Power Law 2.16 MW h respectively. In order to gain a better understanding of

1/10th Power Law the performance of a tidal current turbine operating at each site,
Log Law the capacity factor for each site was calculated. The capacity factor
6
is an excellent way to evaluate the energy performance of a tidal
current turbine at a site. The capacity factor, CF, is the ratio of the
4 actual energy outputted by a tidal current turbine over a given per-
iod of time, typically one year, and the energy outputted by the tidal
current turbine if it was to operate at its rated capacity for the same
2 duration of time. The capacity factor is calculated using:
E
0 CF ¼ ð5Þ
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 T  Pr
Speed (m/s)
where E is the energy outputted by the turbine over a given period
Fig. 15. Comparison of theoretical peak spring-tide speed profiles with measured of time, T, and Pr is the rated power of the turbine [33,34]. The val-
data at a site in the Shannon Estuary. ues of annual energy output yielded a capacity factor of 0.12 and
734 F. O’Rourke et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 726–734

0.19 for the site in the Bulls Mouth and Shannon Estuary respec- Costelloe of AquaFact International Services Ltd. for his help and
tively. These values indicate that the tidal current turbine captures useful discussions on the data.
less than 20% of the maximum available energy, based on the
installed capacity, at both sites. However, varying the rated power References
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The authors greatly acknowledge AquaFact International
hydrodynamic performance of marine current turbines. Renew Energy
Services Ltd., RPS Group Ltd. and SEAI for their support and the 2008;33(5):1085–96.
use of collected data. The authors would also like to thank Mark