Frontiers in Marine Sciences, Social Sciences and Engineering Research Related to Marine (Renewable) Energy Development

Book excerpt: To coordinate the contradiction between economic development and climate change, countries all over the world are vigorously developing renewable energy. Among all renewable energy sources, onshore solar energy, hydro energy and wind energy are limited by the land and environment. The marine is rich in various energies, including marine wind energy, wave energy, tidal energy and marine biomass energy, marine oil and mineral resources. In the development of marine energy, various offshore structures are generally adopted and constructed including offshore wind turbines, wave energy power generation devices, offshore oil and gas exploitation platforms, etc. The safety and reliability of these structures are vital for marine (renewable) energy development. In the meanwhile, marine energy development involves multiple disciplines, which are related to marine biology, chemistry, ecology and the environment. The interdisciplinary studies on these topics are also of significance in marine energy development. In addition, human activities (e.g. marine policy, marine transportation planning, environmental management, economic assessment, and culture) influence the development process of marine energy, which also needs to be investigated.