Coriolis Program: A Review of the Status of the Ocean Turbine Energy System

The goal of the Coriolis Program is to develop an energy system to generate electrical power via an array of large ducted turbines moored about 30 km east of Miami in the Florida Current of the Gulf Stream. Numerous studies have been made of the technical, economic, and environmental issues involved. Here, the program background is given and the system as currently envisaged is described. The Florida Current resource is discussed, using estimates of the power available from the momentum flux. Important environmental issues are reviewed and estimates of effects are given which show that the program will have no adverse local or global effects. A recent U.S. Department of Energy sponsored study of the hydrodynamic and hydroelastic behavior of key system components is described. In this work, theoretical and experimental studies show that the catenary turbine rotors will be free of adverse vibrations, and that the proposed mooring system will be stable and well damped. Finally, the overall Coriolis Program plan is reviewed and the next phases for the design and construction of a small scale (11 m diameter) prototype are discussed.