Journal of Coastal Research SI 85 1301–1305 Coconut Creek, Florida 2018

Assessment of Tidal Current Energy Potential at Uldolmok in the

Southwestern Coast of Korea
Dong Hui Ko†, Jin-Soon Park†*, and Kwang-Soo Lee†
†
Coastal Development Research Center
Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology
385, Haeyang-ro, Busan, Republic of Korea www.cerf-jcr.org

ABSTRACT

Ko, D.H.; Park, J.-S., and Lee, K.-S., 2018. Assessment of tidal current energy potential at Uldolmok in the
southwestern coast of Korea. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International
Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp.
1301-1305. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Quantitative assessment for the tidal current energy potential and marine conditions should be preceded to
www.JCRonline.org construct the optimal tidal energy farm. Assessment of tidal energy resource at Uldolmok which is the optimal
candidate sites for tidal energy farm was carried out. In order to collect the field data, static survey using
ADCP(Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) was conducted and harmonic analysis was done to predict the
annual tidal current. As a result, the dominant direction of ebb current was southeast and flood current was
northwest. The maximum ebb current speed was about 4.09 m/s. While, annual power density was estimated
as 56.78MWh/m2. 1MW(HS 1000), 1.2MW(MCT 1200), 1.5MW(AR 1500), 2MW(SeaGen-S 2000) that were
commercially available turbines in the world were used to calculate the annual energy production. SeaGen-S
was possible to produce the highest annual energy production up to 9,338.4MWh. These results can be used to
establish a plan for the development of the tidal current energy farm.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: tidal current energy, Uldolmok, annual power density, annual energy production.

INTRODUCTION high(Carballo et al., 2009; Bahaj, 2011).

Recently, the world faced the global warming, climate change KIOST(Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology)
and unstable energy supplies due to increased greenhouse gas constructed Uldolmok tidal current power plant having 1MW
emissions and primary energy consumption (Mestres et al., installed capacity in 2009 in Jindo, Korea. And the facilities are
2016). In 2011, Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant accident used to test tidal current energy converters(Figure 1).
decreased the dependency on nuclear power plants, and the
establishment of renewable energy policies to prepare for future
energy supply imbalances led to develop the renewable energy.
The United Kingdom, United States and Canada, all of them
lead global marine energy industry, are currently focusing on the
development of renewable energy to reliably secure the national
energy (Zhang et al., 2014).
In Korea, the development of tidal energy, wave energy and
ocean thermal energy are being conducted as ocean energy.
Especially, the southwestern coast of Korea is a group of islands
called an archipelago. As there are strong currents between
islands, it is favorable for the development of tidal current
energy. According to an earlier study, the annual energy density
of Uldolmok is 52.1 MWh/m2 and Jangjuk strait is 6.9 MWh/m2. Figure 1. A photo of Uldolmok tidal current power plant in Jido, Korea.
In addition, Korean tidal energy densities estimated about 1 GW
(KHOA, 2010; Byun et al., 2013) Meanwhile, tidal energy resource and marine condition must
Tidal energy implied the generation of electricity directly be analyzed to establish the optimal tidal current energy farm.
from the ebbing and flooding of the currents without And these results should be used to make a plan and to secure
construction of turbines in a barrage. So it is not affected by the project feasibility. Few studies have evaluated applying
weather or seasonal affected and the availability is relatively numerical models validated and calibrated with field data for
____________________ tidal energy resource assessment (Pacheo et al., 2014; Ramos et
DOI: 10.2112/SI85-261.1 received 30 November 2017; accepted in al., 2013).
revision 10 February 2018. The environmental characteristics of Uldolmok have been
*Corresponding author: [email protected] published through numerous research on tidal current velocity
©
Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2018 by a numerical model, but there are no analytical results through
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Ko, Park, and Lee

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

long-term observation. The reason is that strong velocity causes Where, 𝑓𝑓(𝑈𝑈𝑝𝑝 ) is the occurrence rate of available velocity for
many difficulties to fix the equipment. However, observed data output (%), and it shall be obtained from statistical method of
for at least one month is needed to evaluate tidal resource observed data. In addition, capacity factor(%) refers to the ratio
(EMEC, 2009). Therefore, in this study, tidal currents in of an actual annual energy production to the rated power output
Uldolmok were investigated using by ADCP (Acoustic Doppler over a given period. It is used as one of the system evaluation
Current Profiler). Static survey and collected data were analyzed indices and it is expressed by equation (6).
to estimate the harmonic constants and characteristics of tidal
current. In addition, tidal current density and annual energy Capacity Factor =
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
(6)
production according to tidal current turbines were estimated. 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ×8760

METHODS Power curve

Tidal energy potential can be assessed by power density and Figure 2 shows the power curves of four tidal turbines for
annual energy production. 1MW(HS 1000), 1.2MW(MCT 1200), 1.5MW(AR 1500) and
2MW(SeaGen-S 2000).
Power density
Since the power density of tidal energy is proportional to the
cubic root of the tidal velocity, the power density is highly
calculated in a strong flow region. The power density, P( =
W/𝑚𝑚2 ) available over a unit area normal to tidal current
velocity, V(= m/s) is represented by Equation (1).

P = 1⁄2 𝜌𝜌𝑉𝑉 3 (1)

Where, ρ is water density(=1,025kg/𝑚𝑚3 ).

The average power density shall be calculated from the
distribution of observed tidal current speed, f(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 ), by Equation Figure 2. Power curves of four tidal turbines
(2)(EMEC, 2009; IEC, 2012).
1 1 All tidal turbines are horizontal axis having yawing system.
APD = 𝜌𝜌 ∑𝑁𝑁 3 3
𝑖𝑖=1(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 × 𝑓𝑓(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 )) = 𝜌𝜌𝑉𝑉𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 (2) And these turbines have pitch control system that is one of the
2 2
most widely used control techniques to regulate the power
In Equation (2), 𝑉𝑉𝑟𝑟3𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 , which is the root mean cubed speed, is output of tidal turbine generator. The tidal turbine information is
rewritten as Equation (3). summarized in Table 1.

3 Table 1. Characteristics of four tidal turbines used in this paper.

𝑉𝑉𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = √∑𝑁𝑁 3
𝑖𝑖=1(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 × 𝑓𝑓(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 )) (3)
MCT SeaGen-S
Model HS1000 AR 1500
1200 2000
Where, N is the number of bins and the index i refers to the ANDRITZ
ATLANTIS
bin number. And 𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 is the central value of the 𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑡ℎ bin. Manufacturer HYDRO MCT
RESOURCES
MCT
Hammerfest

Annual energy production and capacity factor Type HAT HAT HAT HAT
Using the tidal velocities for one year and power curve of the Cut-in(m/s) 1.1 1 1.6 1
tidal turbines, annual energy production(kWh) can be calculated Cut-out(m/s) 3.5 3.5 5 4
by the following equation (4). Rated power
1,085 1,200 1,500 2,000
(kW)

AEP = 𝑁𝑁ℎ × 𝐴𝐴𝑣𝑣 × ∑𝑁𝑁 (4) Rated speed

𝑖𝑖=1 𝑃𝑃(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 ) × 𝑓𝑓(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 ) (m/s)
2.8 2.6 3 2.5

Diameter(m) 21 16 18 20
In Equation (5), 𝑁𝑁ℎ is the number of hours in one year(=
8760), 𝐴𝐴𝑉𝑉 is availability of tidal current turbine(%), P(𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 ) is the The HS 1000 horizontal axis turbine(HAT) is equipped with a
power in kW generated by the 𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ speed bin of the device power specially designed pitching system and nacelle yawing system
curve. Particularly, the availability of the tidal current device is allowing optimal harnessing of tidal currents in both ebb and
assumed to be 100% for the calculation of the annual energy flood directions. The HS 1000 is designed to start up 1 m/s and
production (IEC, 2012). Annual occurrence time can be defined rated power is 1,085kW obtained from sea testing at
as the available time for electrical energy output over one year EMEC(European Marine Energy Centre) located in Fall of
such as Equation (5). Warness, Orkney, Scotland (Andritz Hydro Hammerfest, 2017).
AR 1500 turbine is designed to regulate the power output and
Occurrence Time(hr) = 𝑓𝑓(𝑈𝑈𝑝𝑝 ) × 8760ℎ𝑟𝑟 (5) to minimize hydrodynamic loads during extreme tidal conditions
using pitch system. Moreover, as the turbine has yawing system

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Assessment of Tidal Current Energy Potential at Uldolmok in the Southwestern Coast of Korea
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that is required to ensure realignment to the changing tidal

direction, it can operate in both ebb and flood conditions.
Meanwhile, SeaGen is the world’s first commercial scale tidal
turbine. MCT 1200 has two 600 kW rotors with 16m diameter.
Likewise SeaGen-S 2MW tidal generation system has twin
1MW horizontal axis rotors. The rotors utilize an active blade
pitch system to modulate hydrodynamic loads during high flow
conditions. The SeaGen enable to generate on the bi directional
tidal current using pitch control system(Atlantis resources, 2017).

RESULTS
Figure 4. Location of survey point.
Large horizontal flow movements are influenced by tidal
changes in water level having the same cyclic periodicity and
submarine topography. In this paper, characteristics of Figure 5 shows the time series of tidal current. The 0.1 m/s as
bathymetry and tidal current are surveyed at Uldolmok. the bin size, and 1 min depth averaged tidal data are used to
display the time series. Especially, a fourth order Butterworth
Bathymetry of Uldolmok filter method with a cut-off frequency of 1/3 hours-1 is used to
In rias region, tidal currents become much stronger due to remove instrument noise and turbulent motions (EMEC, 2009).
narrow channels. In addition, tidal current speeds are sensitive to
bathymetry and to bottom friction. In this study, Uldolmok
bathymetry was surveyed using seismic equipment(Figure 3).

Figure 5. Tidal current speed and direction at Uldolmok.

Figure 3. Bathymetry of Uldolmok, Jindo.

Figure 6 is the U-V scatter diagram of tidal currents. As
shown in Figure 6, southeast ebb current and the northwest flood
Uldolmok sea bottom bathymetry depending on the form of current was dominant.
the narrow channel, about 300 m wide developed in the
northwest-southeast direction. The water depth distribution
shows a steep slope from both coasts of both coastlines to a
water depth of 15 m, or a very slowly deep terraced terrain
between 15 and 18 m.

Tidal current velocity and direction

ADCP was deployed to measure the characteristics of tidal
current speed and direction during one month (2015.04.13. to
05.15) in the spring of 2015. The information of deployed
location is as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Information on Lat/Long coordinate and period.

Figure 6. The U-V scatter diagram of tidal currents.

Point Lat.(N) Long.(E) Period Interval
2015.4.13. ∼
A 34° 33′56″ 126° 18′38″ 1 min. According to the analysis results, averaged ebb current speed
5.15.
was about 2.21m/s and maximum ebb current was about 4.09m/s
in the direction of 130 °. On the other hand, averaged flood
Figure 4 shows a survey point. A measurement point is near current speed was about 1.78m/s and maximum flood current
the Uldolmok tidal current power pilot plant located between was about 3.47m/s in the direction of 323°. So ebb flow was
Haenam-gun and Jindo-gun. about 0.55m/s stronger than flood flow(Table 3).

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Table 3. Analysis results of observed tidal current in the spring of 2015. DISCUSSION
The following Figure 8-11 represents the annual energy
Point Water depth(m) Tidal current speed(m/s) Direction(°) production of each of the turbines. In the case of HS 1000, the
annual energy production was calculated about 4,397.33 MWh,
Max 4.09 130.71
All with a higher yield of 332.22 MWh, 332.24 MWh at 2.3, 2.5 m/s,
Mean 1.98 225.46 respectively. In the case of MCT 1200, the energy production of
Max 4.09 130.71 2.3-2.4 m/s was highest as 402.52 MWh. And the annual energy
A D.L. -20 Ebb
Mean 2.21 130.70 production was calculated at 5,285.05 MWh. In case of AR
Max 3.47 322.71 1500, electrical output started from 1.6 m/s and annual energy
Flood production was calculated at 5,177.28MWh. Meanwhile,
Mean 1.78 315.50
SeaGen-S 2000 was possible to produce energy up to
9,338.4MWh during a year.
Harmonic analysis of tidal current
Mathematically, periodic oscillations are described in terms of
amplitude and a period or frequency. The basis of the harmonic
analysis is the assumption that tidal variations can be
represented by a finite number, n, of the harmonic terms of the
form such as Equation (5) (Pugh and Woodworth, 2014).

𝑉𝑉𝑛𝑛 cos(𝜎𝜎𝑛𝑛 − 𝑔𝑔𝑛𝑛 ) (5)

Where 𝑉𝑉𝑛𝑛 is amplitude, 𝑔𝑔𝑛𝑛 is phase lag on the equilibrium tide

at Greenwich, and 𝜎𝜎𝑛𝑛 is an angular speed.
Meanwhile, to estimate annual energy production of tidal
energy, at least one year tidal data are needed. Thus harmonic
analysis was carried out to reproduce one year tidal currents Figure 8. Annual energy production of HS 1000.
from 4/13/2015 to 4/13/2016 using T_Tide (Pawlowicz et al.,
2002). Harmonic constants were calculated and it would be
combined to predict tidal current. Table 4 is the results of four
main constituents (M2,S2,O1,K1).

Table 4. Harmonic analysis results of four main constituents.

Constituent M2 S2 K1 O1
Major(cm/s) 271.30 89.59 30.37 16.56
Minor(cm/s) 0.03 0.26 0.04 0.43
INC(Angle) 134.08 133.91 134.50 134.98
G(Phase) 98.09 146.55 327.17 281.21

Figure 7 is a histogram of predicted annual tidal current data

for one year by harmonic analysis. The tidal current distribution Figure 9. Annual energy production of MCT 1200.
of 1.4 - 2.8 m/s occupied about 50% of the total at Uldolmok.
The predicted maximum velocity was about 4.23 m/s in flood,
and about 3.81 m/s in ebb.

Figure 10. Annual energy production of AR 1500.

Figure 7. Histogram of predicted tidal currents at Uldolmok.

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Assessment of Tidal Current Energy Potential at Uldolmok in the Southwestern Coast of Korea
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calculated at 53.16%. This result implies that the turbine, which

have a high power output at low current is suitable for the high
energy production at Uldolmok.
Quantitative resource assessments should be performed to
construct the optimum tidal energy farm. Therefore, in this study
quantitative assessment of tidal resource was conducted. The
results summarized in the article might be useful to select the
optimal tidal energy site.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was a part of the project titled ‘Establishment of
sea test-bed for tidal current energy converters (project No.
Figure 11. Annual energy production of SeaGen-S 2000.
20170333)’, and ‘Study of the tidal-current power generating
system using concrete shroud (project No. 20170122)’ funded
by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), Korea.
Figure 12 includes the results of annual energy production,
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Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, 2018

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