Foreword

Global climate change has introduced new perspectives into the issue of energy supply, changing the focus from the cost of coal, oil or gas towards associated environmental impacts. Greater exploitation of renewable energy resources is viewed as an urgent priority worldwide. This themed issue of Maritime Engineering provides a background to the potential and practicalities of renewable energy production offshore. The construction of offshore wind farms is now well established, hence the emphasis here is on tidal and wave energy.

Extraction of tidal power via construction of barrages in estuaries is entirely predictable and involves fully proven technology – the...