Question
Question: What are the limitations of the energy that can be obtained from the oceans?...
What are the limitations of the energy that can be obtained from the oceans?
Solution
In order to answer this question we should first get some idea about the oceans energy. Thermal energy from the sun's heat and mechanical energy from the tides and waves are two types of energy that the ocean can produce.
Complete step-by-step solution:
Electricity can be generated using tides, waves, and currents. The following promising ocean technologies are still in the research and development stage and are not yet commercially available:
Wave energy is a method of generating electricity by capturing the energy inherent in ocean waves and converting it to electricity. Oscillating water columns trap air pockets to drive a turbine, oscillating body converters that use wave motion, and overtopping converters that exploit height differences are examples of converters.
Tidal energy can be generated in a variety of ways, including tidal-range technologies that use a barrage to gather energy between high and low tides, tidal-current or tidal-stream technologies, or hybrid applications.
Limitations of the energy that can be obtained from the oceans are:
The intensity of sea waves varies.
Construction costs for tidal power plants are high. This is due to the fact that they must be extremely strong in order to withstand the force of the water. To transform tidal energy into power, high dams are required.
Having a negative impact on marine life forms
Limitations imposed by the location due to the scarcity of sites with adequate tidal ranges or flow rates. To generate electricity from wave energy, extremely powerful waves are required.
The relative positions of the Earth, moon, and Sun determine tidal energy.
To effectively harness ocean thermal energy, the temperature differential between surface water (hot) and deep water (cold) must be 20∘C or more.
Note: They have a number of important advantages over other renewable energy sources, including the following: Predictable and dependable are two words that come to mind when thinking about this product. Tides and ocean currents, unlike wind, sun, and other ocean energy sources like wave power, are almost completely predictable. The never-ending flows ensure that energy will be available in the future.