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

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Marine Energy.

Total: 3511

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Evaluating the Risk of Collision of Seals Swimming Within Metres of Operating Tidal Turbines Montabaranom, J., Gillespie, D., Sparling, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Marine Renewable Energy Sector Vision 2050 Marine Renewables Canada Report Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
2025 UK Ocean Energy Review Grattan, K., Olsson, S., Noble, D. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Stakeholder Engagement
R&D programs for wave energy in Spain: A contingent valuation application with multiple bounded uncertainty Cerda, E., López-Otero, X., Quiroga, S. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Disruptive Innovation and Industrial Modernisation: Pathways to Securing Offshore Renewable Energy Supply Chain Competitiveness Grattan, K., Olsson, S., Noble, D. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
Ocean renewable energy for equitable energy access in a Blue Economy Cisneros-Montemayor, A., Hirsch, S., Dillon, T. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
PNNL-TUNAMELT: Toward automating the detection of interactions with marine energy devices using acoustic camera sensors Nowak, T., Staines, G., Abdullai, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal
Observations of marine animal interactions with a small tidal turbine Cotter, E., Bassett, C., Murphy, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Renewable Energy Deployments at Sea: Innovative Pathways and Challenges for Marine Renewable Energy in the Global Transition Xicotencatl-Pérez, J., Ruiz-Vanoye, J., Díaz-Parra, O. Book Chapter Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions
Geospatial analysis of the life cycle global warming impacts from marine renewables Engelfried, T., Alday, M., Raghavan, V. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Effects of electromagnetic fields on flatfish activity levels Chapman, E., Rochas, C., Burns, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind EMF Fish, Demersal Fish
Marine Renewable Energy Regulator Survey: United Kingdom McGrath, J., Freeman, M. Report Marine Energy
Passive Acoustic Monitoring of a Riverine Turbine with Stationary Hydrophones Cotter, E., Haxel, J., McVey, J. Report Marine Energy, Riverine Noise
Lifecycle analysis of marine renewable energy infrastructures: Sustainable futures Tamoor, M., Zhang, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
All tide up: addressing the regulatory and environmental barriers affecting tidal energy development in British Columbia Kelsey, A. Thesis Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, EMF, Noise Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Life Cycle Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Systems: A Literature Review for Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Floating Modular Energy Islands (FMEIs) Bas, B., Gervásio, H., Borg, R.P. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
How to Measure the Social Impact of Renewable Energy Communities? Cipriano, M., Virili, F., Za, S. Book Chapter Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Environmental DNA (eDNA) for Monitoring Fish at Marine Energy Project Sites Hemery, L., Pereira, L. Summary Marine Energy
Finding common ground: Assessing the Co-location potential of California's blue food and clean energy sectors Gonzales, C., Wu, G., Froehlich, H. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Nature+ Conference 2025: Summary and Future Outlook Dutch Marine Energy Centre Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind
Wave energy in season: a comparative approach to feasibility of seasonal deployments for remote coastal communities Trueworthy, A., Gaebele, D., Jones, K. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Tidal flow masks acoustic detections of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): Implications for passive acoustic studies of cetaceans Veneruso, G., Chapuis, L., Hastie, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Riding the wave of acceptance: Understanding factors in support for marine energy in the United States D'Anna, L., Wade, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Exploring the perception of decision-makers towards a marine renewable energy project on the island of Cozumel, Mexico Wojtarowski, A., Martinez, L. Journal Article Marine Energy Human Dimensions, Recreation & Tourism, Stakeholder Engagement
Misplaced fears? What the evidence reveals of the ecological effects of tidal power generation Ascher, S., Gray, I., Collins, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Renewable Energy A Gender Perspective Garcia-Banos, C. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Suitability for co-location of offshore aquaculture and wave energy in the US Caribbean Garavelli, L., Freeman, M., Grear, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning
Female Crabs Are More Sensitive to Environmentally Relevant Electromagnetic Fields from Submarine Power Cables James, E., Ghodsi, M., Ford, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Attraction, EMF Invertebrates
The socio-economic benefits of tidal power to the European economy Noble, D., Grattan, K., Jeffrey, H. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
A guide for co-locating marine energy and aquaculture Freeman, M., Garavelli, L., Branch, R. Conference Paper Marine Energy Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Environmental effects of marine renewable energy off-grid and micro-grid applications: a use case approach to assess existing knowledge and remaining uncertainties Hemery, L., Weicht, L., Copping, A. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Minimizing environmental risks to progress the marine renewable energy industry Garavelli, L., Rose, D., Freeman, M. Conference Paper Marine Energy Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
Environmental DNA for fish monitoring around tidal energy devices Hemery, L., Pereira, L., Jones, K. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Fish, Pelagic Fish
Life Cycle Assessment of co-located floating offshore wind and wave energy technologies in Portugal Bastos, P., Breyer, C., Kluge, S. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Life Cycle Assessment
Environmental Risks and Impacts of Offshore Energy: A Literature Review Pontinha, D., Bispo, L., Gervásio, H. Conference Paper Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Stakeholders’ views on siting in-stream tidal energy projects in urban and remote communities in the United States Jenkins, L., Beaver, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Impacts of nitrogen-to-phosphorus imbalance from hybrid ocean thermal energy conversion operations on benthic communities and coastal ecosystem management Leng, Q., Yusuff, F., Zhang, W. Journal Article Marine Energy, OTEC Chemicals, Habitat Change Invertebrates
Approaches to understanding effects from particle motion and substrate-borne vibration on fishes and invertebrates Guan, S., Roberts, L., Haxel, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates
A Review Concerning the Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Potential in the Black Sea Silion, A., Rusu, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind
Offshore wave energy converter array poses threat to coasts causing significant rip currents Cao, X., Shi, J., Zheng, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Displaying 1 - 40 of 3511 results