Gulf Stream energy resources: North Atlantic flow volume increases create more power

The North Atlantic subtropical gyre appears to offer a significant resource for recovery of marine hydrokinetic energy, especially from its western boundary current, the Florida Current, as it passes through the Straits of Florida. Because the volume of water flowing through the Straits is consistent with the integrated wind forcing over the basin, limitations on power extraction can be related to energy input by the wind. Farther north, however, the volume flow in the Gulf Stream northeast of Cape Hatteras is much higher than this due to the dynamics of the main current as well as the Worthington and Slope Sea Gyres. This suggests that another source of energy is in play. This brief review discusses this additional energy resource for marine renewable energy applications and outlines the technological implications and challenges involved. •The Gulf Stream is known to be a potential source of marine renewable energy.•Its well-known force, the wind, provides only part of its energy.•NE of Cape Hatteras, potential energy conversion is another source of energy.•The structure of the current may obviate customized regional device design.•Diminishing returns for improving designs can be deduced from current measurements.