Complementarity of offshore energy resources on the Spanish coasts: Wind, wave, and photovoltaic energy

Abstract

The complementarity of the solar, wind, and wave energy resource in hybrid offshore platforms has the potential to increase productivity and reduce the variability in the energy output that a single type of energy source can generate. In this study, ERA5 reanalysis is used to calculate wind, solar and wave energy resources in Spanish potential locations for offshore platforms. The results indicate that wind energy presents the largest energy resource for all Spanish offshore regions, followed by photovoltaic energy. However, taking in count the “drought periods” (periods in which no energy is obtained from any of the analysed technologies), wave energy presents an opportunity to provide a continuous flow of energy, especially in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. The evaluation of the complementarity of the three energy sources shows that the use of hybrid platforms would not only increase energy production but also reduce variability. In terms of energy production, wind energy along with solar energy are the largest energy generators. But in terms of minimizing variability, wave energy along with solar photovoltaic energy are the most important. Thus, this study is paving the way to introduce multiple energy converters on hybrid platforms as a pathway toward more powerful and sustainable energy production.