Assessment of array shape of tidal stream turbines on hydro-environmental impacts and power output

Abstract

This study investigates the significance of the layout of an array of tidal stream turbines on the power output and the hydro-environmental impacts array using the Research Centre’s widely used open-source hydro-environmental model, namely DIVAST (Depth Integrated Velocities And Solute Transport), which was modified by the authors to include turbines as momentum sinks, to simulate the impact of an array of turbines in a coastal environment. For this purpose, three various layouts of an array of turbines, having the same number of turbines and located in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel, were modelled and compared. The estuary, including the Bristol Channel, is approximately 200 km long and with a typical spring tidal range of over 14 m has the third highest rise and fall of tide in the world, with the spring tidal currents in the estuary being well in excess of 2 m/s.