An Evaluation of the Wind Energy Resources along the Spanish Continental Nearshore

The main objective of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the wind conditions in the Spanish continental nearshore considering a state-of-the-art wind dataset. In order to do this, the ERA5 wind data, covering the 20-year time interval from 1999 to 2018, was processed and evaluated. ERA stands for ’ECMWF Re-Analysis’ and refers to a series of research projects at ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) which produced various datasets. In addition to the analysis of the wind resources (reported for a 100 m height), the performances of several wind turbines, ranging from 3 to 9.5 MW, were evaluated. From the analysis of the spatial maps it was observed that the Northern part of this region presents significant wind resources, the mean wind speed values exceeding 9 m/s in some locations. On the other hand, in regard to the Southern sector, more energetic conditions are visible close to the Strait of Gibraltar and to the Gulf of Lion. Nevertheless, from the analysis of the data corresponding to these two Southern nearshore points it was observed that the average wind speed was lower than 8 m/s in both summer and winter months. Regarding the considered wind turbines, the capacity factor did in general not exceed 20%—however, we did observe some peaks that could reach to 30%. Finally, it can be highlighted that the Northern part of the Spanish continental nearshore is significant from the perspective of extracting offshore wind energy, especially considering the technologies based on floating platforms. Furthermore, because of the clear synergy between wind and wave energy, which are characteristic to this coastal environment, an important conclusion of the present work is that the implementation of joint wind–wave projects might be effective in the Northwestern side of the Iberian nearshore

A Long-Term Assessment of the Black Sea Wave Climate

In the present work the Black Sea wave climate is assessed using a total of 38 years of data (1979–2016). As a first step, the long-term variations of the main wave parameters were evaluated using data provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Based on these values, the nearshore and offshore conditions from the Black Sea were evaluated. Moreover, the Sea of Azov was also targeted in this study, since in some cases the conditions are comparable with those of the Black Sea. Going up to the present day, the regional wave climate was assessed through satellite measurements provided by the AVISO project, at the same time indicating the differences between these data and the ECMWF reanalysis dataset. In general, the conditions reported in the northwestern sector of the Black Sea seem to be more energetic, indicating more frequently the presence of rough conditions. Finally, it can be concluded that the results presented in the present study cover a broad range of applications in climatological studies and other types of research related to coastal protection

Joint Evaluation of the Wave and Offshore Wind Energy Resources in the Developing Countries

The objective of the present work is to assess the global wind and wave resources in the vicinity of some developing countries by evaluating 16-year of data (2001–2016), coming from the European Centre for Medium range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). Until now, not much work has been done to evaluate and use the renewable energy sources from these marine environments. This is because most of the attention was focused on more promising areas, such as the European coasts, which are more advanced in terms of technical and economical aspects. A general perspective of the current energy market from the selected target areas is first presented, indicating at the same time the progresses that have been reported in the field of the renewable energy. Besides the spatial and seasonal variations of the marine resources considered, the results also indicate the energy potential of these coastal environments as well as the performances of some offshore wind turbines, which may operate in these regions

Evaluation of the shoreline effect of the marine energy farms in different coastal environments

The objective of the proposed work is to assess the possible effects on the shoreline dynamics of the marine energy farms. Three different coastal environments have been considered as case studies. The first area is located in the Portuguese continental nearshore at the European western coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The second in the Mediterranean Sea in the coastal environment of Sardinia Island and the third on the western side of the Black Sea in the Romanian nearshore. Besides the fact that, from a geographical point of view, the three areas targeted are located in very different zones, they represent also coastal environments with very different characteristics. A computational framework joining a spectral phase averaged wave model with a 1D parametric circulation model has been used. The numerical models are SWAN (acronym from Simulating Waves Nearshore) for the waves and NSSM (the Navy Standard Surf Model) for estimating the longshore currents. For each case study, the main characteristics of the environmental matrix have been analyzed first. Then, various transmission scenarios have been, designed considering also in each case different distances from the marine energy farm to the shoreline. A general conclusion of the proposed work is that the longshore currents are very sensitive to the presence of the marine energy farms and that is why such farms can also play an active role in coastal protection. Moreover, since it presents in parallel similar analyses for three coastal environments that have very different features, the present study provides a more comprehensive picture concerning the medium to long term impact on the shoreline dynamics of the future marine energy farms operating in the nearshore

Evaluation of the shoreline effect of the marine energy farms in different coastal environments

The objective of the proposed work is to assess the possible effects on the shoreline dynamics of the marine energy farms. Three different coastal environments have been considered as case studies. The first area is located in the Portuguese continental nearshore at the European western coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The second in the Mediterranean Sea in the coastal environment of Sardinia Island and the third on the western side of the Black Sea in the Romanian nearshore. Besides the fact that, from a geographical point of view, the three areas targeted are located in very different zones, they represent also coastal environments with very different characteristics. A computational framework joining a spectral phase averaged wave model with a 1D parametric circulation model has been used. The numerical models are SWAN (acronym from Simulating Waves Nearshore) for the waves and NSSM (the Navy Standard Surf Model) for estimating the longshore currents. For each case study, the main characteristics of the environmental matrix have been analyzed first. Then, various transmission scenarios have been, designed considering also in each case different distances from the marine energy farm to the shoreline. A general conclusion of the proposed work is that the longshore currents are very sensitive to the presence of the marine energy farms and that is why such farms can also play an active role in coastal protection. Moreover, since it presents in parallel similar analyses for three coastal environments that have very different features, the present study provides a more comprehensive picture concerning the medium to long term impact on the shoreline dynamics of the future marine energy farms operating in the nearshore

An Evaluation of Marine Renewable Energy Resources Complementarity in the Portuguese Nearshore

The Portuguese nearshore represents a suitable environment for the development of marine energy farms, with recent progress being related to the implementation of the first commercial wave farm or a large scale floating wind project. At the same time, there is also high solar power in this area that can be extracted; in the near future, the rapid development of floating solar projects all over the world is expected. In this context, the aim of the present work is to identify the complementarity between solar, wind and wave resources based on 10 years of ERA5 data (from 2012 to 2021). The results are provided mainly in terms of spatial maps. The analysis shows that solar and wind power are more significant in the southern part of this region, indicating for each resource an average value of 223 W/m2 for solar and 660 W/m2 for wind. On the other hand, the wave power gradually decreases from north to south, with an average value of 10 kW/m being expected at a distance of 50 km from the shoreline. In terms of complementarity, two scenarios were considered (mild and restrictive), the difference between them being estimated to be around 10%. Several dimensionless indices were defined in order to highlight the correlation between solar, wind and wave conditions, which may be considered as an element of novelty for the target area. In general, higher values (0.5) were noted in the case of the wind-wave and wave-solar combinations, excepting the southern part of Portugal (Algarve) where particular conditions were noted. Finally, the expected power outputs from some relevant technologies were also estimated, including a new concept of the wave energy generator designed for the WindFloat platform. Compared to the solar and wind systems, the performance of the selected wave generation system was quite low, suggesting that other types of wave energy converters would be more appropriate at this moment in the coastal area targeted. Finally, we need to mention that the idea of using multiple resources from a single marine site is an attractive one, while the methodology dedicated to this topic will continuously improve as new technological solutions emerge

Offshore Wind Energy and the Romanian Energy Future

The aim of the present work is to assess the electricity production coming from an offshore wind farm that may operate in the northern part of the Romanian coastal area. In the first part, a complete description of the Romanian energy sector is presented considering the t ime interval from January 2008 to December 2018. In general, the elect ricity sold is negat ive (exports exceed imports), with the ment ion that a significant cont ribution comes from hydroelect ric and coal generat ion. It is important to ment ion that , if one of these two sectors willno longer perform on full capacity, the elect ricity balance will be shifted to the elect ricity imports. As for the wind energy, the average values from the vicinity of Sulina site may vary between 5.6 m/s and 8 m/s depending on the season, these results being reported at a wind turbine level (80 m). By using an offshore win d farm which replicates the Greater Gabbard project (504 MW), England, was possible to est imate the annual energy product ion and to indicate the expected impact on the energy sector. For example, a single wind farm may cover 1.7% of the total production, which may be further associated with 9.6% from nuclear, 7.6% from hydroelect ric or 6.4% from coal, respectively

Assessment of the Romanian onshore and offshore wind energy potential

A general assessment of the wind energy potential from the eastern part of Romania was carried out in this work by taking into account onshore and offshore wind conditions. First, a perspective of the importance of the renewable resources into the Romanian electricity system was provided, from which was noticed that the wind production cover almost 15% from the demand (reported to 2017). From the analysis of the wind data significant differences were noticed between the onshore and offshore regions, the last one presenting more important wind resources, that significantly increase during the winter time (with almost 22%). According to the performance reported by an offshore wind turbine (rated at 3 MW), such generator will operate at full capacity in a maximum 9% from the time, if we consider a hub height of 119 m

Sustainability of the Reanalysis Databases in Predicting the Wind and Wave Power along the European Coasts

In the present work, the wind and wave conditions in the European nearshore are assessed considering a total of 118 years of data, covering the time interval from 1900 to 2017. In this context, special attention has been given to the western European coasts that are facing the ocean. In order to do this, the reanalysis data coming from three state-of-the-art databases (ERA Interim, ERA20C, and NCEP) were processed. Furthermore, a more complete picture was provided by also including the satellite measurements coming from the AVISO (Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic Data) project in the analysis. From this perspective, the distribution of the two marine energy resources was discussed, which throughout energetic maps—and further, on some specific reference sites—were defined at a distance of 50 km from the shore for more detailed analysis and comparison. As expected, the places located in the vicinity of the United Kingdom present more important energy resources, but some other interesting sites were also highlighted. Furthermore, although each dataset is defined by particular features, there is a similar pattern in the identification of the sites’ attractiveness, regardless of the database considered for assessment

A Long-Term Assessment of the Black Sea Wave Climate

In the present work the Black Sea wave climate is assessed using a total of 38 years of data (1979–2016). As a first step, the long-term variations of the main wave parameters were evaluated using data provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Based on these values, the nearshore and offshore conditions from the Black Sea were evaluated. Moreover, the Sea of Azov was also targeted in this study, since in some cases the conditions are comparable with those of the Black Sea. Going up to the present day, the regional wave climate was assessed through satellite measurements provided by the AVISO project, at the same time indicating the differences between these data and the ECMWF reanalysis dataset. In general, the conditions reported in the northwestern sector of the Black Sea seem to be more energetic, indicating more frequently the presence of rough conditions. Finally, it can be concluded that the results presented in the present study cover a broad range of applications in climatological studies and other types of research related to coastal protection