Oceanic engineering and offshore energy production

The Annual Energy Outlook 2008 ^[1] prepared by Energy Information Administration of the United States Department of Energy projects the continued use of fossil fuels (liquids, coal and natural gas) with little emphasis on “Oceanic Energy Conversion” and marginal importance to “Offshore Wind Energy conversion.” However the potential energy available for conversion to electrical energy along the coastal United States and the Ocean in general is considerable. Von Jouanne ^[2] estimated that “2 onethousandths of the oceans´ untapped energy could provide power equal to current worldwide demand.” This paper provides an overview of oceanic energy production technologies highlighting surface wave motion, tidal height variations and subsurface currents, oceanic currents, ocean thermalgradient energy conversion, and wind generation technologies.