Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 March 2023) | Viewed by 13008

Special Issue Editor

School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Interests: tidal and wave energy; renewable energy site characterisation; coastal and environmental engineering; sediment transport; blue economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) plays an increasingly important role in future sustainable energy production. In particular, wave and tidal energy technology is still not fully commercialised compared to offshore wind production which is already well advanced on a global scale. The site selection procedures and the assessment of the environmental footprint of MRE structures differ greatly between individual MRE types. The implementation of guidelines is a key component for further advancement and commercialisation of MRE. Likewise, predicting and monitoring the effects of MRE systems once installed is of great relevance.to the industry sector

The purpose of the invited Special Issue is to publish the most exciting research with respect to the above subject (see also topics and keywords below) and to aim for a rapid turn-around time regarding reviewing and publishing, and to disseminate the articles freely for research, teaching, and reference purposes. High quality papers are encouraged, for publication, directly related to various aspects of Wave, Tidal Energy and Offshore Wind Site Assessment and Monitoring, for instance:

  • Assessment methods and analytical techniques for resource and impact assessment
  • Monitoring technology and strategies
  • Numerical and physical modelling
  • Seabed-structure interaction
  • Effects on flora and fauna
  • Case studies 

Dr. Remo Cossu
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 16886 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Approach to Assessing the Wave Potential for the Energy Supply of Ports: A Case Study
by Victor Ramos, Gianmaria Giannini, Tomás Calheiros-Cabral, Paulo Rosa-Santos and Francisco Taveira-Pinto
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(12), 1989; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10121989 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2383
Abstract
In recent years, seaports have faced increasing pressure to transition towards a low-carbon and more sustainable energy model. In this context, the exploitation of the local wave energy resource may appear as a promising alternative. Therefore, the objective of this work is to [...] Read more.
In recent years, seaports have faced increasing pressure to transition towards a low-carbon and more sustainable energy model. In this context, the exploitation of the local wave energy resource may appear as a promising alternative. Therefore, the objective of this work is to present a methodology to select the best WEC-site combination to supply the energy demands of ports. To illustrate this methodology, the Port of Leixões (Portugal) is used as a case study. For the selection of wave energy sites in port areas, the methodology proposes a detailed spatial characterisation of both the wave resource and marine uses. For the area of study, having considered the main marine uses (sediment disposal, biodiversity, aquaculture, recreational and navigation), two exploitable wave energy sites (Areas I and II) with average annual energy resources of 24 and 17 kWm1, respectively, were found. Next, the methodology proposes a techno-economic optimisation of WECs, based on the local wave conditions of Areas I and II, to minimise their associated Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE). The results obtained confirm the effectiveness of the methodology, with the novel oCECO device, appearing as the most feasible option (with an LCoE of EUR 387.6/MWh) to exploit the wave potential in the surrounding areas of the port. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring)
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17 pages, 7361 KiB  
Article
On the Functionality of Radar and Laser Ocean Wave Sensors
by Pramod Kumar Jangir, Kevin C. Ewans and Ian R. Young
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(9), 1260; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10091260 - 6 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
Ocean wave design criteria are required for the design of offshore platforms and floating systems, which are derived using in situ measurements. However, there is uncertainty regarding the performance of the instruments used for the in situ measurements. The main instruments used by [...] Read more.
Ocean wave design criteria are required for the design of offshore platforms and floating systems, which are derived using in situ measurements. However, there is uncertainty regarding the performance of the instruments used for the in situ measurements. The main instruments used by the offshore industry are the Datawell Directional Waverider buoy and Rosemount WaveRadar, with Laser instruments also having been used for specific studies. Recent reports indicate measurements from these three instruments differ in the order of 10% but given the quite disparate nature of the measurements made by these instruments, it is far from clear what the source of this difference is. This paper investigates the wave measurement principles of Radar and Laser instruments using linear wave field simulations to better understand how the instruments perform. The Radar and Laser simulations include modeling electromagnetic signal beam reflections from water surfaces of an area equal to their footprint sizes, considering their beam characteristics and antenna pattern. The study confirms that the Radar underestimates spectral levels at frequencies above 0.5 Hz due to its significantly larger footprint at the water sea surface compared to the Laser (5.25 m vs. 0.15 m). The Laser performs well for almost the entire frequency range for all the cases considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring)
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17 pages, 7209 KiB  
Article
Open Sea Lab: An integrated Coastal Ocean Observatory Powered by Wave Energy
by Jaime Cortés, Felipe Lucero, Leandro Suarez, Cristian Escauriaza, Sergio A. Navarrete, Gonzalo Tampier, Cristian Cifuentes, Rodrigo Cienfuegos, Daniel Manriquez, Bárbara Parragué, Nicole Osiadacz and Randy Finke
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(9), 1249; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10091249 - 5 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2855
Abstract
Current advances in wave energy technologies have enabled the development of new integrated measurement platforms powered by the energy of wave motion. Instrumentation is now being deployed for the long-term observation of the coastal ocean, with the objectives of analyzing the performance of [...] Read more.
Current advances in wave energy technologies have enabled the development of new integrated measurement platforms powered by the energy of wave motion. Instrumentation is now being deployed for the long-term observation of the coastal ocean, with the objectives of analyzing the performance of wave energy converters (WECs) and studying their interactions with the surrounding environment and marine life. In this work, we present the most relevant findings of the installation and initial operation of the Open Sea Lab (OSL), the first coastal observatory in Latin America powered entirely by a WEC device. We evaluated the preliminary data regarding the combined operation of the system, the generation of energy, and the observations obtained by the continuous monitoring of physical variables at the site. The data showed the seasonal variability of the energy produced by the WEC for a range of wave heights during the period of observation. We also investigated the rapid development of biofouling on mooring lines, junction boxes, and other parts of the system, which is characteristic of the settlement and growth of organisms in this ocean region. These analyses show how this new facility will advance our understanding of the coastal environment in the south Pacific Ocean and foster new interdisciplinary collaborations addressing environmental and technical challenges, thereby contributing to the development of wave energy on the continent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring)
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20 pages, 8261 KiB  
Article
Numerical Analysis of an Overtopping Wave Energy Converter Subjected to the Incidence of Irregular and Regular Waves from Realistic Sea States
by Ricardo G. Hubner, Cristiano Fragassa, Maycon da S. Paiva, Phelype H. Oleinik, Mateus das N. Gomes, Luiz A. O. Rocha, Elizaldo D. dos Santos, Bianca N. Machado and Liércio A. Isoldi
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(8), 1084; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10081084 - 8 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2242
Abstract
The present study aims to evaluate the difference in the fluid-dynamic behavior of an overtopping wave energy converter under the incidence of irregular waves based on a realistic sea state when compared to the incidence of regular waves, representative of this sea state. [...] Read more.
The present study aims to evaluate the difference in the fluid-dynamic behavior of an overtopping wave energy converter under the incidence of irregular waves based on a realistic sea state when compared to the incidence of regular waves, representative of this sea state. Thus, the sea data of three regions from the Rio Grande do Sul coast, Brazil, were considered. Fluent software was employed for the computational modeling, which is based on the finite volume method (FVM). The numerical generation of waves occurred through the imposition of the velocity boundary conditions using transient discrete values through the WaveMIMO methodology. The volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model was applied to treat the water–air interaction. The results for the water amount accumulated in the device reservoir showed that the fluid-dynamic behavior of the overtopping converter has significant differences when comparing the two proposed approaches. Differences up to 240% were found for the water mass accumulated in the overtopping device reservoir, showing evidence that the results can be overestimated when the overtopping device is analyzed under the incidence of the representative regular waves. Furthermore, for all studied cases, it was possible to approximate the water volume accumulated over time in the overtopping reservoir through a first-degree polynomial function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring)
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21 pages, 9489 KiB  
Article
Field Observations of Scour Behavior around an Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converter
by Orrin Lancaster, Remo Cossu, Craig Heatherington, Scott Hunter and Tom E. Baldock
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(3), 320; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10030320 - 23 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2243
Abstract
This study provides the first ever published measurements of scour and morphological change around an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converter (WEC) device at a real-world site, with the intention of informing future designs to reduce costs of the technology. A 200-kW [...] Read more.
This study provides the first ever published measurements of scour and morphological change around an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converter (WEC) device at a real-world site, with the intention of informing future designs to reduce costs of the technology. A 200-kW prototype OWC WEC was deployed at King Island, Tasmania, Australia in January 2021, providing a unique opportunity to monitor the device using a combination of dive footage, multi-beam surveys and bedrock surveys. Settlement of the device was observed and monitored before ceasing once the foundation made contact with the underlying bedrock at the site. It is hypothesized that the settlement is caused by scour undermining the gravity structure’s foundations. The processes causing this scour are explored and possible future design modifications are suggested to reduce the risk of scour and settlement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy Site Assessment and Monitoring)
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