Siting Methodologies for Tidal In-Stream Energy Conversion Systems

Tidal In-Stream Energy Conversion (TISEC) is a promising source of clean, renewable and predictable energy. One of the preliminary steps in development of the technology is establishing a standardized and repeatable methodology for the characterization of potential deployment sites. Stationary Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADCP) velocity data collected at four sites near Marrowstone Island, Puget Sound are used to test the applicability of metrics characterizing maximum and mean velocity, eddy intensity, rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation, vertical shear, directionality, ebb and flood asymmetry, vertical profile and other aspects of the flow regime deemed relevant to TISEC.