Last month, 26 technical presentations devoted to Ocean Energy topics were highlighted at the leading annual ocean science and technology forum, Oceans 2014 in St. Johns' Newfoundland. These sessions were well attended and included presentations by engineers and scientists from research institutes and companies from around the globe.  

There were several talks looking at obtaining low, continuous power from biological process in the sediment (microbial fuel cells) for in situ sensors. Designing robust structures for tidal and wave device testing is an important topic since there are several sites in Europe, Canada and the US that are in the process of establishing sites for companies and researchers to test their devices in the actual marine environment. Every test site has a different set of parameters that must be considered. Other presentations addressed how arrays of different types of tidal turbines affect one another and how they can be positioned to maximize power output. Research results about the ecological and acoustical impacts of marine pile driving around renewable energy installations were also reported.

MTS is an excellent venue for ocean energy topics to be discussed because the community encompasses professionals versed in virtually all the science, engineering and policy aspects of doing work in the demanding marine environment. Future Oceans programs will definitely issue Calls for Abstracts about ocean energy topics, in fact Oceans 2015 to be held in Genova, Italy May 18-21 is focusing on Discovering Sustainable Ocean Energy for a New World. Please refere to this web site to submit an abstract:  http://oceans15mtsieeegenova.org/index.cfm 

Contact: MTS Marine Renewable Energy Committee Co-Chairs; Maggie Merrill, Marine Marketing Services and Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative, maggielmerrill@gmail.com;  Clifford Merz; University of South Florida, cmerz@usf.edu   Kenneth Baldwin, University of New Hampshire Center for Ocean Renewable Energy, Kenneth.baldwin@unh.edu