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Integrated water resources management

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy will undoubtedly play a major role in the next 20 to 40 years. This will create a great opportunity for science and industry to get involved in the fast-growing market of research and consulting. Responding to energy and climate change is a vital social task and one in which Deltares is involved.

Alternative renewable energy sources are increasingly being explored and the development of solar and wind energy is at the front of this advance. The market and the capacity for solar heat has grown exponentially in Europe over the last 20 years. Furthermore, in terms of capacity, recently installed wind energy represents over 30% of all installed electricity capacity in the EU over the last five years.

In the fields in which Deltares is specialized, there is still a lot of research to be done. In some cases the technologies for generating energy with water and the subsurface need further development, still have a low efficiency or are very expensive. These technologies are nevertheless promising, and with further development and elaboration, they have - especially in delta areas - great potential for energy production or storage.
Deltares can play a significant role in developing knowledge, improving technologies, and in estimating the impact of these developments on the environment.

Water

Hydroelectric power is generally accepted as an effective form of renewable energy. In Scandinavian countries a large proportion of energy originates from hydroelectric power (Norway 99%). High head hydropower is not common in a river delta, since the landscape near the mouth of a river is often not suitable. Other concepts to extract energy from water have other requirements and might be appropriate for application in river deltas. They can be categorized as follows:

Blue Energy– energy from saline gradients
Tidal energy – both from tidal currents and tidal range
River energy – low head hydropower or currents
Wave energy – near shore and offshore
Thermal Energy – from urban surface water, possible with seasonal storage in aquifers.

Most of these technologies need further development or location specific research, some are ready to use. However, none are yet frequently applied. Deltares can help technology developers and water managers with implementing renewable energy solutions.
Deltares specializes in assessing, testing and improving technological concepts, in assessing the environmental aspects and in reducing or eliminating barriers.

Subsoil

For some time geothermal energy is produced in the form of heat and electricity. However the capacity growth in recent years has been very small. Especially in Southern Europe, where the soil has a high enthalpy, potential exists for further exploitation of geothermal energy. A development, which has had strong growth over the past years, is ATES, Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage. ATES systems temporarily store heat or cold in an aquifer, with the goal to recapture it at an appropriate moment for heating or cooling purposes. In the Netherlands ATES is relatively widely used compared to other European countries.

The large amount of surface and subsurface water near built-up areas in the Netherlands and the energy (storage) potential it represents, stimulates further research and development of heat and cold ‘production’ and storage in urban areas. In the Netherlands 30% of the energy consumption is spent on the heating and cooling of buildings.

With the usage of the subsoil it is possible to locally reduce the energy demand by 50 to 70%, which can lead to a total overall saving of 15 to 20% for the Netherlands. Especially in densely populated areas the possibility of interference between the different uses of the subsurface is an important risk.
Deltares specializes in linking thermal energy flows withy area-based planning.

Focus on the North Sea

The government is working on the Spatial Perspective North Sea to provide clarity on the spatial development of the various uses of the North Sea, including features such as wind energy, oil and gas extraction and storage of gas and CO2. A major expansion of offshore wind farms and stimulating the production of oil and gas from small fields are the first steps towards using the North Sea as a renewable energy source.

Other options such as tidal and wave energy, saline gradient energy and algae for bio fuels are also being considered. The government will, together with (commercial) market parties and knowledge institutes, develop and explore different options and provide a clear perspective. This also includes a multifunctional energy island with large-scale electricity storage in the North Sea.
Deltares specializes in supporting the transition path to sustainability.

The text above shows that great potential exists in delta areas for renewable energy production and storage, though technological challenges remain and spatial integration requires special attention.