ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 showed how extension of the hypothesis from HEP to other water-based renewable energy sources could be applied to tidal, marine current and wave energy, with lower but relatively comparable power flux densities. The hypothesis might be relevant in determining impact, though the paucity of available examples precluded tests of empirical data. In this section the hypothesis is extended to the lower power flux density sources, i.e. wind, solar and biomass, with power flux densities in the range <~200 W m-2 to 12 kW m-2, and to geothermal. The parameters proposed – power flux density, proportion of interception and energy capture, efficiency of energy conversion and number of energy conversions – are applied to these sources’ impacts.
