AbstractMarine renewable energy (MRE) is in the early stages of contributing to the energy portfolios of the United States and many other nations around the world. Although many MRE developers are designing devices that will harvest energy to contribute to the electrical
grid from waves, tides, and ocean currents, a number of other promising maritime markets could be supplied with MRE power at sea. These maritime markets are often less price sensitive, have fewer options than utility-scale electricity markets, and can handle some degree of intermittency. Some
of the promising maritime markets that could benefit from co-located power generation include ocean observation nodes, underwater recharge of autonomous vehicles, desalination of seawater for remote coastal areas, offshore aquaculture, shoreline protection and electricity generation, providing
electricity and freshwater following coastal emergencies, providing power to islanded and isolated communities, powering and cooling nearshore underwater data centers, recharging of electric surface vessels, and personal charging of electronics. Pairing of MRE power generation with these and
other maritime markets is in the early stages, but the potential for synergy and growth of MRE coupled to these markets is promising.
Localized effects of offshore aquaculture on water quality in a tropical sea
