Overview
This study presents a modeling framework that identifies deployment locations for current-energy-capture devices, aiming to maximize power output while minimizing potential environmental impacts. The framework, based on the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code, can incorporate site-specific environmental constraints.
Model Setup
Over a 29-day period, energy outputs were estimated for three array layouts: the preliminary baseline configuration, an updated configuration that accounted for environmental constraints, and an improved configuration subject to no environmental constraints.
Key Findings
The array placement that did not consider environmental constraints extracted the most energy from the flow at 4.38 MW-hr/day — 19% higher than the baseline configuration’s 3.69 MW-hr/day. The array placement that considered environmental constraints removed 4.27 MW-hr/day, still 16% more than the baseline. By accounting for bathymetry and flow-pattern variations that typical experimental studies cannot capture, the framework demonstrates value as a tool for identifying improved array layouts for field deployments.