Obtaining renewable energy from tidal currents in the Aviles port: New services for citizens Alvarez Alvarez E. University of Oviedo EP Mieres Asturias - Spain edualvarez@uniovi.es Navarro Manso A. University of Oviedo EP Mieres Asturias - Spain navarroantonio@uniovi.es Gutiérrez-Trashorras A.J. University of Oviedo EPI Gijón Asturias - Spain gutierrezantonio@uniovi.es Joaquin Fernández Francos University of Oviedo EP Mieres Asturias - Spain jffrancos@uniovi.es Rico Secades M. University of Oviedo IEEE senior member - Ce3i2 group Asturias - Spain mrico@uniovi.es Abstract— The port of Avilés is very tightly integrated in the city of Avilés. Within the waters of the port there is significant tidal activity. The possibility of extracting this tidal energy and using it locally to provide services for citizens and port activities is a topic of great interest. Despite the low viability of current tidal energy installations, this investigation includes a design for a micro-generator system based on a set of micro-turbines and the associated off-the-shelf electronic converters to be situated in the port of Avilés. A study of the energy production system and its economic feasibility provide the parameters to define suitable sites for the installation. Keywords—tidal energy, micro-turbine, maximum power point tracking, rectifier, power converter, street lighting, charging station I. INTRODUCTION In spite of new developments and policies, the world is failing to lead the global energy system along a more sustainable path. Projections indicate that the world’s energy demand will be more than triple by 2035; China, India and the Middle East accounting for more than 60% of the increase [1]. Therefore, to achieve the climate target of limiting global warming to 2°C is becoming more difficult and expensive. In this scenario, maximizing renewable energy development takes on vital importance. Tides and marine currents make the sea level near the coast rise and fall. Tidal energy is based on the harnessing the force of both effects to create a predictable energy source with great development potential, nowadays virtually unexploited. Facing a worldwide global power consumption of 21,431 TWh/year in 2012 [2], the estimated potential for tidal energy is about 800 TWh/year worldwide [3] and 105.4 TWh/year in Europe [4] (mainly in The UK, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany and Spain). Tidal energy can be harnessed in two different ways: taking advantage of the potential energy from the difference in height (or head) between high and low tides in tidal barrage installations or using the kinetic energy of marine currents in energy devices, mainly tidal current turbines. Fig.1. Situation of proposed tidal energy farm, port and city of Avilés At present, the majority of tidal energy production in the world comes from tidal barrages constructed between the 1960s and 1980s. Electricity generation from tidal barrages employs the same principles as hydroelectric generation except that tidal currents flow in both directions. Although the technology is mature and reliable, these projects have not been 978-1-4799-2911-5/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE