Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Stream Currents in Morocco

What is it about?

Energy extracted from ocean provides the agreement of regular and foreseeable electrical production at higher energy densities than other resources of renewable energy. The marine current resource is potentially great but principally focused on a number of sites around the world. The knowledge of the energy potentials, constraints and easements are all prerequisites needed to determine the possibilities for the implementation of infrastructure for the production of energy but also anticipate the structuring of energy routes new responding to technological needs. Several Moroccan regions wish to take advantage of the potential offered by their coastal domain to play a major role in the development of the tidal energy sector and the associated economic benefits knowing that the Mediterranean coast long of 550 km and Atlantic of 3000 km . The goal of this research is to evaluate, estimate, and analyze the tidal marine currents resource at sites potentially suitable for the installation of Horizontal Axis Marine Current Turbine in Morocco. Distributions of available power of tidal energy in the Morocco region are provided, and three possible areas for installing tidal energy converts are suggested

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Why is it important?

Resource evaluation at marine current localities is still necessary for the knowledge of tidal movements. Thus, large-scale estimation operations quantifying the number of the area with a resource for Tidal energy converters system along the Moroccan coast would be interesting to operate. In this research, preliminary results of an evaluation of the tidal stream power at different regions in Morocco are shown. This research, although based on data from Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, has shown that there is a great potential for power production from such a site. The investigation has also presented that by the characteristic of the topography of the locality, it is possible to imagine a modular strategy to the establishment of size-dependent HAMCT to be used in phases leading into account technology improvement and progress. It is expected that this research has provided a complete implication of the potential of such a resources and a pointer to those considering the development of devices to utilize marine currents for power production. However, there are some constraints that have to be overcome prior to deployment. One of these is the lack of accurate fluid velocity data, which if available will enable more accurate predictions of the energy yields and more precise assessment of the economic potential of such a site. Once this is quantified, proper estimates of flow and wave loadings on HAMCT structures can be ascertained so that risk and survivability assessments can be carried out prior to full-scale technology deployment.

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