Marine Energy

The generation of renewable energy from tides, waves, currents, salinity, and temperature gradients in the oceans, seas, and rivers.

Marine renewable energy (MRE), also known as ocean energy or marine and hydrokinetic energy (MHK), refers to the various ways to generate electricity from the world’s oceans, seas, and rivers. Movement of water occurs naturally in these bodies of water in the form of waves, tides, and currents. Although many are in early stages of research and development, there is a wide variety of MRE technologies capable of generating electricity from the movement of water, as well as from differences in water temperature and salinity.

The relevant technologies can be classified into the following categories:

The environmental concerns associated with MRE technologies vary substantially based on the technology type, device design, and location. The primary environmental concerns typically encompass animal collisions with dynamic devices, impacts from underwater noise, and concerns about changes to the physical environment.

Please note: Tethys classifies offshore wind energy separately from MRE.

Photo: Simec Atlantis

Affiliated Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Total results: 3352
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
A marine energy and ecosystem service framework for coastal communities Buenau, K., Sather, N., Arkema, K. Journal Article Marine Energy Human Dimensions
Assessing the availability and feasibility of renewable energy on the Great Barrier Reef-Australia Virah-Sawmy, D., Sturmberg, B., Harrison, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions
Effects and management implications of emerging marine renewable energy technologies Copping, A., Wood, D., Rumes, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, OTEC, Salinity Gradient Chemicals, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Collision Risk Evidence Base OES-Environmental Summary Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Riverine, Tidal Collision
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Electromagnetic Fields OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy EMF
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Collision Risk OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy Collision
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Habitat Change OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy Habitat Change
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Underwater Noise OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy Noise
Stressor-Specific Guidance Document: Oceanographic Systems OES-Environmental Report Marine Energy Changes in Flow
How do tides affect underwater acoustic propagation? A collaborative approach to improve internal wave modeling at basin to global scales Schönau, M., Hiron, L., Ragland, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise
Towards more accurate sound field verification using directional acoustic filtering Barosin, E. , Raghukumar, K. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise
Potential environmental impacts of marine renewable energy due to the release of microplastic particles from synthetic mooring cables Paredes, G., Vianello, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Chemicals Physical Environment, Water Quality
What is the value of innovative offshore renewable energy deployment to the UK economy? [2025 Update] Noble, D., Grattan, K., Jeffrey, H. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Tidal Stream Energy Project: Collision Risk Data and Evidence Summary Phillips, E., Wren, S., King, G. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Sustainability Assessment of an Oscillating Water Column During the Design, Installation, Operation, and Disassembly Phases Gallego-Ramírez, C., López-Mosquera, J., Chica, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
IEA-OES Annual Report: An Overview of Ocean Energy Activities in 2024 Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Report Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions
Sea Space Analysis for Wave and Tidal Energy Lee, S., Strong, V., Anning, D. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Water Quality, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Wave energy technology development in Ireland: Employing the triple helix model of innovation for pragmatic policy interventions Barry, C., Ringwood, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
The evolution of equity in offshore renewable energy: A systematic literature review Tighsazzadeh, M., Doyon, A., Hirsch, S. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Marine Renewable Energy Resources in Peru: A Sustainable Blue Energy for Explore and Develop Cacciuttolo, C., Pérez, G., Falcón, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
13 - Marine energy Copping, A., Yang, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy Human Dimensions
Outlook on the development of eco-friendly offshore renewable energy technologies Sun, P., Jiang, Z., Chen, Y. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Guidance for Monitoring and Reporting of Underwater Noise Chumbinho, R. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Ecosystem Processes, Marine Mammals
Bayesian networks for assessing the sustainability of the marine renewable energy sector in the blue economy of Spanish ports Vaca-Cabrero, J., González-Cancelas, N., Camaro-Orive, A. Journal Article Marine Energy Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Autonomous sensor suite for evaluating fish-turbine interactions and environmental impacts in marine renewable energy and hydropower Salalila, A., Lu, J., Martinez, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision Fish
SafeWave Deliverable 3.2 Sound Propagation Modelling Gambin, J.A.G., Topon, K.A.S., Felis, I. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise
The Blue Economy in Los Angeles County Charting a Course Forward Durante, G., Dunsker, M., Sedgewick, S. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
UK Ocean Energy Review 2024 Grattan, K., Noble, D., Jeffrey, H. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
Evaluation of the Hydrodynamic Impacts of Tidal Turbine Arrays in Jiaozhou Bay Zhang, C., Yang, X., Jiang, Y. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
SIDS Lighthouses Initiative: Progress and way forward Dhabi, A. Report Marine Energy Stakeholder Engagement
Marine Fish Passage: Underappreciated Threats to Connectivity Within the Marine Environment Lennox, R., Birnie-Gauvin, K., Bate, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
A Fuzzy Logic Technique for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Power Plants Flores, P., Mendoza, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Tidal, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Visual Impacts
Seals exhibit localised avoidance of operational tidal turbines Montabaranom, J., Gillespie, D., Longden, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Socio-economic and environmental impacts of renewable energy deployments: A review Virah-Sawmy, D., Sturmberg, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Future Economic Potential of Tidal Stream & Wave Energy in Scotland Noble, D., Grattan, K., Jeffrey, H. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Marine spatial planning techniques with a case study on wave-powered offshore aquaculture farms Ewig, G., Hasankhani, A, Won, E Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Shetland Tidal Array Monitoring Report July 2023 to June 2024 Smith, K. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Impacts of thermal and cold discharge from power plants on marine benthos and its mitigation measures: a systematic review Leng, Q., Mohamat-Yusuff, F., Mohamed, K.N. Journal Article Marine Energy, OTEC Habitat Change Fish, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality
SafeWave Deliverable 3.4 Synthesis of Knowledge Acquired and Gap Analysis Garcia, J., Felis, I., de Santiago, I. Report Marine Energy, Wave Changes in Flow, EMF, Noise
SafeWave Deliverable 5.4 Guidance Document on a Risk Based, Adaptive Management Based Consenting Process for Wave Energy Projects in France and Ireland Verling, E., O'Hagan, A., Soulard, T. Report Marine Energy, Wave Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
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