Prospective energy needs in Mediterranean offshore aquaculture: Renewable and sustainable energy solutions Michalis Menicou *, Vassos Vassiliou 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Frederick University, 7 Yianni Frederickou Str., Pallouriotissa, P.O. Box 24729, 1303 Nicosia, Cyprus Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 3084 2. Offshore aquaculture industry in Eastern Mediterranean ................................................................ 3085 3. Prospective energy needs of an offshore aquaculture installation.......................................................... 3086 3.1. Underwater lighting ........................................................................................ 3086 3.2. Feeding monitoring......................................................................................... 3086 3.2.1. Feeding camera .................................................................................... 3087 3.2.2. Pellet sensor....................................................................................... 3087 3.3. Surveillance ............................................................................................... 3087 3.4. Current sensors ............................................................................................ 3087 3.5. Oxygen sensor............................................................................................. 3087 3.6. Wireless cage sensor........................................................................................ 3087 3.7. Remote video ............................................................................................. 3087 3.8. Aggregation of energy requirements ........................................................................... 3087 4. Renewable and sustainable energy solutions to meet prospective energy needs in Eastern Mediterranean offshore aquaculture ....... 3087 4.1. Solar irradiation levels ...................................................................................... 3087 4.2. Wind potential ............................................................................................ 3088 4.3. Wave energy .............................................................................................. 3089 4.4. Sea currents energy ........................................................................................ 3089 5. Future challenges ................................................................................................ 3090 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. 3090 References ..................................................................................................... 3091 1. Introduction Current World population is 6.8 billion, and it is expected to pass through the 7 billion mark in 2012. According to the UN, the world population in 2050 will be 9.1 billion – a rise of over 6.6 billion in the 100 years since 1950 [1]. The question naturally arises Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 3084–3091 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 12 May 2010 Accepted 15 June 2010 Keywords: Offshore renewable Offshore aquaculture Offshore standalone systems ABSTRACT Offshore aquaculture industry is considered among the fastest growing industries worldwide. However, further expansion of this industry requires larger breeding installations positioned even further from shore. These installations inevitably would require substantial automation powered by appropriate energy sources. Thus, this paper investigates appropriate sustainable renewable energy generation solutions to meet anticipated needs. Firstly, an account of energy requirements of a typical offshore aquaculture installation is presented to realise the scale of energy required. Subsequently, current status of solar, wind, wave and current renewable energy technologies is given and their applicability for Eastern Mediterranean offshore aquaculture is investigated. Finally, further challenges and research milestones to overcome are discussed. ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: Tel.: +357 22 345 159x112; fax: +357 22 43 82 34. E-mail addresses: eng.mm@fit.ac.cy (M. Menicou), eng.vv@fit.ac.cy (V. Vassiliou). 1 Tel.: +357 22 345 159x115; fax: +357 22 43 82 34. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser 1364-0321/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.06.013