Riverine Hydrokinetic Energy Resource Assessment of the United States
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Slater, Emma Catherine
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Abstract
This study focuses on characterizing the riverine hydrokinetic energy resource and its natural variability for the United States. The results are an estimate of the theoretical re- source available for 360 hydrokinetic turbine deployments. The theoretical resource is quantified for each of the 18 hydrologic units in the conterminous United States based on a number of spatial and hydrologic considerations. Discharge data obtained from the Na- tional Water Model Version 2.1 retrospective dataset is processed and used to create flow duration curves for selected segments. The segments are selected based on 3 criteria: (1) highest average flowrate, (2) spatial distribution of 0.5 degrees, and (3) absence of a dam. The geographic and temporal variability are analyzed by identifying annual and interan- nual trends in the flow. The identified trends are compared to global rainfall and societal patterns in water usage to serve as the basis for a discussion regarding the potential future conditions impacting hydrokinetic project development. The theoretical power generated by installing hydrokinetic energy devices is computed along the segments spanning each hydrologic unit, giving an overall estimate for the potential theoretical resource available.
The overall theoretical hydrokinetic resource for the United States is estimated to be 29.4 TWh/yr for 360 turbine project sites. This is slightly smaller than the estimated re- source from the same locations in the University of Alaska Anchorage (2012) report by the Electric Power Research Institute. The increased resolution and accuracy of the discharge, slope, and slope length values used in this thesis versus those used in the University of Alaska Anchorage (2012) report is likely the source of the difference.
The seasonal and inter-annual variation trends identified varied by basin. Across the basins, generally the annual energy peaked in spring and summer months, while annual energy was lowest in late fall and winter months. This trend was prevalent for the Lower Mississippi, Pacific Northwest, and Missouri basins. The South Atlantic and California basins’ annual energy peaked in later winter with lower values in the fall. Annual energy appears to have slightly increased on average from 1980 to 2020 considering annual vari- ation, with a peak in 2019. This trend was especially prevalent for the Lower Mississippi and Missouri basins. While the Lower and Upper Mississippi regions were found to have both the highest resource and magnitude of variability from the mean value per basin, the Texas and Souris-Red-Rainy regions were found to have the largest relative changes annu- ally from 1980-2020. The Pacific Northwest and Upper Colorado regions experienced the highest seasonal variation within an average year relative to the other basins, likely due to the influence of snowmelt.
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2023-07-31
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