Ocean and Offshore Systems Engineering for Renewable Energy Applications

The ocean and offshore environment represent an abundant source of renewable energy. Engineers must create technologies, such as wave-energy converters and wind turbines, capable of both harnessing power and withstanding the harsh environment of the sea. With questions about the short- and long-term reliability and sustainability of the power grid, having alternate energy options is critical. While many forms of renewable energy, such as solar and nuclear, call land their home, other methods — such as offshore wind farms, wave energy, and current/tide energy — are utilizing the seas to generate electricity. The modern world needs a diverse energy portfolio, and during the past decade, significant investments have been committed to harnessing marine renewable energy sources that have a theoretical potential to far exceed the world's present power generation needs.

Growing a vibrant clean energy industry will lead to major societal benefits by reducing pollution and creating many jobs. In addition to well-established renewables like wind, solar, and traditional hydropower, marine currents have the potential to diversify and significantly strengthen the global energy portfolio. While offshore wind energy is commercially competitive, current wave-energy converters (which sit close to the surface of the water and utilize the natural motion of waves to generate electricity) are less cost-effective and only useful for smaller-scale, special purposes.

This Research Topic will explore and advance the field of ocean and offshore systems engineering for renewable energy applications. The primary objectives include investigating the potential of marine currents, wave energy, and offshore wind as viable sources of renewable energy. Specific questions to be addressed include the efficiency and reliability of various energy conversion technologies, the integration of these systems into existing power grids, and the environmental impacts of large-scale deployment. Hypotheses to be tested involve the optimization of turbine arrays, the feasibility of combined energy production methods, and the development of cost-effective wave-energy converters.

We will accept the following article types: Original Research, Method, and Review. To gather further insights in the field of ocean and offshore systems engineering for renewable energy applications, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Extraction of electrical power from marine currents using ocean current turbines.
• Coordinated, safe, reliable, and robust operation of turbine arrays for maximum energy production.
• Networked electrical interconnections between devices and energy storage solutions.
• Efficient feeding of electrical power from turbine arrays to onshore grids.
• Broader impacts on the energy sector, ocean engineering, marine vehicles, and autonomy and control systems.
• Development of synergistic combinations of renewable energy production methods on floating offshore platforms.
• Commercial competitiveness of wave-energy converters combined with desalination plants and hydrogen factories.

Keywords: Ocean, Offshore, Systems, Renewables, Marine

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.