Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts and Performances of Commercial-Scale Turbine Arrays in the Strait of Larantuka, Indonesia

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The Strait of Larantuka, with highly energetic tidal stream currents reaching speeds of up to 3–4 m/s, is a promising site for renewable electricity production from the ocean. This paper presents the results of an assessment regarding the potential hydrodynamic impacts, wake characteristics, and the performances of large scale turbine arrays in the strait. A high-resolution, three-dimensional baroclinic model is developed using the FLOW module of the Delft3D modeling system to simulate tidal currents. The energy of currents is assumed to be extracted by horizontal-axis tidal turbines, which can harness strong bi-directional flow, positioned on sequential rows and alternating downstream arrangements. Enhanced momentum sinks are used to represent the influence of energy extraction by the tidal turbines. Four different array layouts with rated capacities of up to 35 MW are considered. We find that, in the Strait of Larantuka, array layout significantly affects the flow conditions and the power output, mainly due to the geometric blockage effect of the bounded channel. With respect to undisturbed flow conditions in the strait, decreases in current speeds of up to about 0.6 m/s, alongside increases in the order of 80% near-shore are observed. While operating efficiency rates of turbines reaching around 50%–60% resulted during the spring tide in the arrays with smaller rated capacities, the power output of the devices was negligible during the neap tide.