Increasing the sustainability of composite components of marine hydrokinetic turbines

As the world transitions to a clean, sustainable way of living, tidal energy has emerged as a reliable, predictable form of renewable energy that can be used to power our communities and industry. The theoretical amount of marine energy available in tidal streams, ocean currents, and riverine currents is estimated at 2,051 TWh per year. Even when conservative estimates are made to determine the amount of the resource that is practically extractable (i.e., once areas with environmental, social, and economic conflicts are removed), there is 615 TWh per year of harvestable energy, which is 22 times the average annual electricity requirement of the Republic of Ireland. In this paper, the CRIMSON project methodology and details of the main technical aspects for the development of more sustainable foils for a novel marine hydrokinetic turbine are presented, which includes material and foil design, composite foil manufacture, full-scale structural testing and operational trials. Selected static testing results from a previous generation foil are presented and the expected impact of the project is described.