Current Status of Development and Application of Ocean Renewable Energy Technology

Abstract

As society continues to develop, the demand for, and dependence on, energy for production and daily life activities are constantly increasing. Driven by environmental awareness and limited land resource, people have begun to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and turn to the ocean for energy. Oceans contain vast and abundant energy resources, such as waves, tides, temperature differences and salinity gradients, all of which can be used for power generation. These resources are clean, efficient, renewable and inexhaustible, making them reliable “blue energy sources”. In addition, they are also generally not limited by land use areas, meeting the need for sustainable energy development. This article summarizes the technical characteristics of ocean energy, such as wave, tidal curre1nt, tidal, temperature difference and salinity gradient energies, and combs through the technological forms of different ocean energies, respectively. It also summarizes the development status of the ocean energy industry, and analyzes the industrial maturity of wave energy, tidal energy, etc, predicts future ocean energy development trends, and highlights the influence of ocean energy on sustainable development. We hope that this article provides a reference for scholars and institutions that dedicated to the research and development of ocean energy.