Abstract
Marine renewable energy (MRE) is a label that embraces a range of technologies used to harness ocean energy, including wave, tidal stream, tidal barrage, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and salinity gradient, as well as offshore wind (floating and fixed). For the current analysis, floating solar is omitted from the MRE set. With an increasing drive towards zero-carbon energy provision, and the need for complementarity with increasing penetration of wind and solar, the need to tap the vast available MRE resources has never been greater. Ultimately, the adoption of MRE energy harnessing technology is contingent on the cost of MRE being competitive with other renewable, and conventional, energy sources, in terms of Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE). The value of appropriate control systems, which can maximise the energy conversion capability of MRE and give added value to the capital investment, has been identified as an important modulator of LCoE. This paper examines the range of control problems within the gamut of MRE technologies and documents commonality and contrasts, as well as the emergence of control problems that are unique to aspects of MRE