Recent Trend and Domestic Activities on Technical Standardization on Ocean Energy Systems

Abstract

For the commercialization of ocean energy systems and its industrialization, it is very important to build up the relevant technical standards and guidelines. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has been working on the technical standardization of ocean energy systems through IEC/TC114 Marine Energy-Wave, tidal and other water current converters since 2007. Main subjects are tidal current, wave and ocean thermal, river current energies. The tidal range energy is already commercialized and its relavant standards can be found in IEC/TC4 on hydropower system, therefore the tidal range is not covered by IEC/TC114. In stead, the river and ocean current energy systems are dealt as one of ocean energy systems. The technical specifications for the cean current energy systems are dealt as an annex of tidal current energy systems such as TS62600-200, however the technical specifications for river current energy are newly being developed as TS62600-300 and 301. As of the end of 2018, a total of ten technical specifications have been published, including terminology and design of systems([1]-[10]), and technical specification for OTEC design, which was already authorized by IEC central office, will be published soon. A total of five other technical specifications will be published by 2020, including mechanical load measurement, scaled model test, and river current energy converters.