Characteristics of the Operational Noise from Full Scale Wave Energy Converters in the Lysekil Project: Estimation of Potential Environmental Impacts

Energies

Kalle Haikonen¹  Jan Sundberg² 

[1] Division of Electricity, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 534, Uppsala 751 25, Sweden;

关键词: direct driven wave energy converter;    underwater noise;    environmental impact;    renewable energy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en6052562

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Wave energy conversion is a clean electric power production technology. During operation there are no emissions in the form of harmful gases. However there are unsolved issues considering environmental impacts such as: electromagnetism; the artificial reef effect and underwater noise. Anthropogenic noise is increasing in the oceans worldwide and wave power will contribute to this sound pollution in the oceans; but to what extent? The main purpose of this study was to examine the noise emitted by a full scale operating Wave Energy Converter (WEC) in the Lysekil project at Uppsala University in Sweden. A minor review of the hearing capabilities of fish and marine mammals is presented to aid in the conclusions of impact from anthropogenic sound. A hydrophone was deployed to the seabed in the Lysekil research site park at distance of 20 and 40 m away from two operational WECs. The measurements were performed in the spring of 2011. The results showed that the main noise was a transient noise with most of its energy in frequencies below 1 kHz. These results indicate that several marine organisms (fish and mammals) will be able to hear the operating WECs of a distance of at least 20 m.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.