NREL Energy Basics: Marine Energy (Text Version)

This is the text version of the video NREL Energy Basics: Marine Energy.

[Music starts]

[Animation of sun, waves, clouds, and wind lead to text on screen: Energy Basics, Marine Energy]

[Narrator speaks]

Marine Energy: A largely untapped source of renewable energy that has the potential to power about 22 million U.S. homes.

[Illustrated ocean surrounding United States with house icons all over map and 22 million on screen.]

Naturally present in our rivers and ocean, this energy exists thanks to the sun and the moon. When the sun shines on the Earth's surface, that heat creates winds that whip up waves. And both the sun and moon's gravitational pull create tidal currents.

[Animation of sun heating up Earth, creating wind that makes waves.]

But there's more to marine energy than just waves and currents. This renewable also includes big shifts in ocean temperature, pressure, and salt content. Combined, all that power could theoretically meet about 60% of the United States' annual electricity needs. Although we can't practically harness all that power, if we can access even a small portion, that energy could play a significant role in helping us achieve our ambitious clean energy goals.

[Animated thermometer and pressure gauge appear on screen with text: 60% U.S. electricity needs, followed by pie chart 1/4 filled in.]

Marine energy has been around for a while. In 1799, a Frenchman built a machine that turned ocean waves into electricity. But the ocean, with its big, salty waves, isn't always kind to machinery, and waves couldn't compete with cheap fossil fuels.

[Text on screen: 1799, followed by animated elderly man standing next to machine, followed by animated person wearing hardhat with light bulb in the sky stands next to fossil fuel plant.]

And yet, marine energy researchers keep coming up with clever ways to outsmart the ocean and get marine energy devices closer to commercial success. Today's growing fleet of technologies come in all shapes and sizes. Some bob like buoys, others sit on the seafloor and sway like paddles, and some look like submerged wind turbines.

[Animated buoy bobs on top of ocean, while another animated device sits at the bottom of the sea floor, followed by an animated wind turbine submerged in the water.]

Each device is designed to harness one of the many different types of marine energy.

So, what makes marine energy an ideal source of renewable energy? Marine energy is highly reliable and predictable. That means it can complement more variable energy sources, like wind energy and solar power, and play a big role in decarbonizing power grids worldwide.

[Text on screen: Marine energy = reliable and predictable, followed by animated wind turbines on top of a cliff with solar panels on ground and then a spinning globe.]

There's still work to be done before marine energy powers the U.S. grid, but in the meantime, this renewable can still make a difference.

[City appears on top of the cliff, with buoy floating on top of the water, wind turbine and wave energy device sitting on sea floor.]

Smaller marine energy devices could help decarbonize ocean-based industries, like seafood farms, ocean exploration, and military missions. They can also power coastal and island communities.

[Animated fishing net sits in ocean water, research vessel floats across screen, and military submarine powers through ocean.]

Today, the marine energy industry is growing fast; and researchers are finding even better ways to make these technologies more cost-effective, versatile, and strong enough to help countries achieve their clean energy goals.

[Animated globe with marine energy technology icons.]

[Animated NREL logo with text on screen: nrel.gov/research/learning.html]

[Narration ends, music stops]