Development of an integrated multi-site & multi-device rapid evaluation tool for tidal energy planning

This work presents a novel evaluation tool that provides a rapid and less tedious approach for those involved in tidal energy planning. Site-Device matching, which is the “pairing” of appropriate device(s) to maximize the allowable energy extracted from a given site, is a crucial decision support process. The Tidal Resource Investigation, Device and Energy Tool (TRIDEnT) integrates resource assessment, power estimation, site-device matching, energy density mapping, and device suitability capabilities. TRIDEnT was prototyped in Matlab™ and currently uses hydrodynamic simulation inputs exported from DELFT3D™. Using TRIDEnT, the relative suitability of ten candidate devices are studied in four selected sites in the Philippines with annual energy yield, levelized cost of energy, capacity, and availability as criteria.