Oceans cover 70 percent of the earth’s surface and represent an enormous amount of energy in the form of wave, tidal, marine current and thermal gradient known as Ocean energy. A variety of different technologies are currently under development throughout the world to harness this energy in all its forms. The government has approved a proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy.

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Potential of Ocean Energy in India:

• Total identified potential of Tidal Energy is about 12455 MW, with potential locations identified at Khambat & Kutch regions, and large backwaters, where barrage technology could be used.
• The total theoretical potential of wave energy in India along the country’s coast is estimated to be about 40,000 MW – these are preliminary estimates. This energy is however less intensive than what is available in more northern and southern latitudes.
• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion has a theoretical potential of 180,000 MW in India subject to suitable technological evolution.

Various means of Ocean Energy:

• Oceans are literally throbbing with energy.
• There are at least several sources of energy in the seas.
• One is the bobbing motion of the waters, or ocean swells — you can place a flat surface on the waters, with a mechanical arm attached to it, and it becomes a pump that can be used to drive water or compressed air through a turbine to produce electricity.
• Another is by tapping into tides, which flow during one part of the day and ebb in another. You can generate electricity by channelling the tide and place a series of turbines in its path.
• One more way is to keep turbines on the sea bed at places where there is a current— a river within the sea.
• Yet another way is to get the waves dash against pistons in, say, a pipe, so as to compress air at the other end.
• Sea water is dense and heavy, when it moves it can punch hard — and, it never stops moving.

Significance of Ocean Energy:

• The world today needs more energy than it ever required. The growing population along with the growing industries requires more and more sources of energy.
• They have become inevitable in our daily life. However we also need to take care of the fact that this consumption should not affect much of the ecological balance of the planet.
• Given fluctuating fuel prices and the impact of global warming, Ocean Energy is now in a very strong position to commercialise the vast body of research and development it has invested in over the past 10 years.
• The sea is a limitless source of power and is a challenging environment, so in order to exploit wave energy commercially there are a number of key components required.
• Unlike wind, solar and other ocean energy sources such as wave power, tides and ocean currents are almost 100 percent predictable. The endless flows create reliability of the future energy availability.
• Moving water is 832 times denser than moving air, which multiplies the kinetic energy by the same factor, making oceans a energy-rich source.
• In many regions, land is a scarce resource. Therefore, on-shore solutions such as wind and solar compete with other users. Subsea ocean energy technologies are hidden in the depth of the ocean, out of sight and do not compete for land space.
• However, the deployment is currently limited but the sector has the potential to grow, fuelling economic growth, reduction of carbon footprint and creating jobs not only along the coasts but also inland along its supply chains.

Conclusion:

Ocean energy is renewable energy sector that surely needs more research to satisfy condition of cost-effectiveness which is at this point it biggest flaw. Since oceans cover almost two thirds of earth’s surface, they truly present renewable energy source with extreme potential and one worth of further exploration.