Standards Development

Scope

This document provides design requirements to ensure the engineering integrity, safety, and performanceof marine energy conversion systems. The primary focus will be on Marine Energy Converters (MECs), to include the wide range of use cases and sizes of MECs using wave, tidal, ocean current, and river current and the wide range of outputs such as electrical or mechanical energy. Note that general guidance on design of an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is covered in IEC TS 62600-20. This document does not pertain to hydroelectric impoundments and barrages and salinity gradient systems.

The purpose of this document is to provide an appropriate level of protection against damage from the most likely hazards that may lead to catastrophic failure of the MEC structural, mechanical, electrical or control systems. The document is applicable to MECs at the preliminary design stage as well as those MECs that have progressed to advanced prototypes and commercial deployment. It is anticipated that this document will be used in certification schemes for design conformity.

Figure 1 illustrates the scope of this document and critical interfaces with other elements of a marine energy conversion system , which include the main structure, appendages, seabed interface, mechanical systems and electrical systems as they pertain to the viability of the device under site-specific environmental conditions. This specification of requirements applies to the design, manufacture, transporation, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of MECs.

Please see draft for Figure 1 – Marine energy converter system boundary for this document and interfaces to boundary systems.

This document uses a limit state design methodology with partial safety factors for loads and materials to ensure MEC reliability as per the general principles discussed inISO 2394 [1].

Several different parties may be responsible for undertaking the various elements of the design, manufacture, transporation, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of MECs. of a marine energy converter and for ensuring that the requirements of this document are met. The division of responsibility between these parties is outside the scope of this document.

Although important to the overall objectives of the IEC 62600 series, this document does not address all aspects of the engineering process that are taken into account during the full system design of MECs. Specifically, this document does not address energy production, performance efficiency, environmental impacts, electric generation and transmission, or power quality. The designer shall analyze the MEC sytem requirements, including connected systems, to ensure that the outputs of MECs are useful for the intended purpose of the marine energy conversion system.

MECs are still in their relative infancy and so innovations are happening all the time. The IEC Maintenance Team responsible for this document is working hard to ensure the technical specifications are appropriate for the sector, and the recommendations provide the correct balance between ensuring consistency in approach and allowing innovation where required. This Technical Specification needs to be tried and tested in more operational situations, and then revised, to ensure the MECs are fit for purpose. The Maintenance Team actively encourages end users to provide feedback on the contents and recommendations. If you wish to contact the Maintenance Team directly with feedback on this TS, wishing to know more about the TS development process or to get involved yourself, please follow the instructions in the Introduction.