Integration of wave energy and other marine renewable energy sources with the needs of coastal societies

Abstract

Marine renewable energy has the potential to solve both the energy-security and coastal-protection problems affecting coastal societies. In this article, the potential benefits arising from the combination of marine renewable energy technologies with infrastructural needs for coastal protection and other local needs are analysed. Classifications of technologies are developed to inform future coastal planning. Explanations of the resources and technologies are presented in layperson's term. The threat of coastal inundation under climate-change scenarios is a major global issue. The investment in new infrastructure demanded by cities, ports and communities at risk of inundation could very substantially reduce the levelised cost of electricity from renewable sources, provided the infrastructure is designed with the dual purpose of power generation and coastal protection. Correspondingly, the sale of electricity from such infrastructure could defray the long-term cost of installing coastal protection. Furthermore, many marine renewable energy technologies provide a platform on which other forms of renewable energy generation could be mounted. It is noted that the complex geophysical and engineering issues arising from this opportunity must be assessed considering socioeconomic factors.

Electrical Power Supply of Remote Maritime Areas: A Review of Hybrid Systems Based on Marine Renewable Energies

“…Wave energy is sometimes classified among the hydrokinetic energy category [26]. Moreover, wave energy is now considered to be suitable for the electricity supply of small islands and coastal areas [1,3,38]. The Atlantic Ocean is often considered for wave energy projects due to the high wave power density available [39], but some recent articles have analyzed several islands case studies in Mediterranean Sea [40][41][42], involving some changes in technologies in order to fit the wave characteristics of the considered location [40].…”

“…Moreover, different classifications can be found in the literature, according to different reviews of recently published wave energy converter technologies [3,4,38,39,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Often, wave energy converters are classified according to the criteria listed below [3,4,37,39,[43][44][45][46]50,53].…”

“…Device shape and direction concerning the swell propagation direction [4,[37][38][39]43,45,46,53]. Three cases are possible:…”

“…Mooring configurations are also discussed [43,48,51]. A new classification based on the operating principle has recently been carried out [38]. A. Babarit proposed a comparison of the existing technologies based on the so-called capture width ratio [47].…”

“…Hydro-mechanical conversion principle (primary conversion stage) [4,26,[37][38][39]43,45,46,48,50,53]. Three categories can be found:…”