Engineering decisions for marine current installations

Abstract

The underdeveloped infrastructure of Russia’s remote regions makes the development of local energy relevant, since the centralization of power supply of vast territories with small consumption becomes unprofitable due to losses in power lines. Renewable energy sources (RES) appear to be one of the most promising strategic directions of local energy development in remote regions of the Arctic and the Russian Far East. The paper presents an overview of underwater installations which transform the mechanical energy of sea currents into electric energy. The article provides some variants of classification of underwater current installations by different authors, general technical parameters of the implemented installations (including prototypes). Based on the review of the sources, the authors have made a conclusion that underwater installations of horizontal axis turbine (HAT) type have the best prospects to develop underwater current installation on the continental shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk around the Kuril Islands.