Attachment A
Statement of Task
MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC ENERGY TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
National Research Council’s Board on Energy and Environmental Systems and Ocean Studies Board
This committee will evaluate detailed assessments produced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of the extractable energy from U.S. marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) resources (waves, tidal currents, ocean currents, marine temperature gradients, and free-flowing water in rivers and streams); review extractable energy estimates and technology specifications; and accurately compare the results across resource types. There are five assessments that will need to be evaluated by the committee addressing: (1) wave energy resources; (2) tidal energy resources; (3) hydrokinetic energy in streams and rivers; (4) marine thermal energy; and (5) ocean current energy. In addressing its statement of task, the committee will:
1) interact with the principal investigators of each individual assessment developed by DOE to understand and question their approach and perhaps suggest additional information or methodological approaches to facilitate consistent comparison across the assessments;
2) review and assess MHK technology -related data, critically analyzing methodologies, technical robustness, reliability, and assumptions related to the performance of the various technologies under consideration;
3) review and assess each of the resource assessments, critically analyzing methodologies, technical robustness, and assumptions related to the resources that might be practicably available for energy conversion and potential limitations on these resources;
4) based on its review and critique of the assessments, provide a defensible comparison of the potential extractable energy from each of the resource types;
5) make recommendations, as appropriate, for improving the assessments, improving the consistency among the assessments, or for improving the methodologies for making the assessments;
6) write an interim report reviewing the methodologies and assumptions, and provide any recommendations associated with the first two assessments being undertaken by DOE (wave and tidal energy); and
7) write a final report reviewing all five of the assessments.
