The collocation feasibility index – A method for selecting sites for co-located wave and wind farms

Abstract

Marine energy is one of the most promising solutions to attempt the ambitious renewable energy target of 20% by 2020 due to its very substantial energy resource. However, it is often considered uneconomical and difficult, and this may hinder its development. Combined energy systems, such as co-located offshore wind turbines and wave energy converters, have recently emerged as a solution to increase the competitiveness of marine energy by taking advantage of the synergies between renewables; which would lead to reductions in the energy cost and improvements in the power output variability and security. On this basis, finding viable locations for combined offshore renewable energies is fundamental to boosting their development. The objective of this paper is to determine suitable locations for deploying a co-located wind and wave energy farm in the North Sea ⎯ an area with several characteristics that make large-scale integration of renewable energy sources attractive. In this assessment we investigate not only the existing resource but also other parameters such as its variability and the correlation between waves and winds by means of the CLF index. In addition, inter-and intra-national user conflicts are considered, while balancing environmental conservation and economic development.

An integrated approach for the installation of a wave farm

“…In addition to the energy available, the socioeconomic and environmental aspects are also of major relevance in selecting the most appropriate sites for installing a wave farm in a region [15,17]. In effect, an integrated coastal zone management approach is required to avoid environmental damage [16] and the interference with other coastal uses [25,26], or in other words, to allow the sustainable development of the coast.…”

“…Finally, the selection of the appropriate technology and location for installing a wave farm in a region depends not only on the available resource and the performance that WECs can attain at particular locations [14], but also on socioeconomic and environmental aspects, such as maritime routes, fishing and aquaculture areas, and marine reserves. In this context, over the last years different optimization procedures have been developed and implemented so as to consider part of these aspects in the selection of the most appropriate areas [15], thereby leading to an integrated approach for wave energy exploitation e.g. [16,17].…”

Assessment of Hybrid Wind-Wave Energy Resource for the NW Coast of Iberian Peninsula in a Climate Change Context

“…Eight indices were considered to assess the future wind energy resource in the northwest Iberian Peninsula coast, following the methodology applied by [38,49,50] to assess the richness of the wind resource, the variability, the environmental risk, and cost parameters. These indices are: Annual average wind speed (W ann ), rich level occurrence (RLO), downtime (DWNT), coefficient of variation index (C v ), monthly variability index (M v ), risk of extreme wind speeds (Risk), water depth (WD), and distance to coast (DC).…”

“…The assessment of the future wave energy resource was similar to the one used for the future wind resource, since both wind and wave resources share the same characteristics and constraints. Previous studies assessed the wave energy resource [38,62,63], taking into account several parameters which evaluated the energy production (linked to a specific WEC), extreme events, availability of the optimal wave height, accessibility, and monthly variability of the resource. Future wave energy resource was classified following a method similar to previous studies [38,49], based on a Delphi technique.…”

“…The EURO-CORDEX initiative, the European branch of the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) project [36], used a wide range of regional climate models (RCMs) driven by several CMIP5 GCMs, under different greenhouse gas emission scenarios, to project wind and the significant height and period of waves, with a high spatial and temporal resolution. However, to assess the feasibility of operating a hybrid wind-wave farm in a specific location, it is necessary to take into account not only wave and wind resources for the near future but also environmental conditions and cost factors [37,38].…”