Abstract
A feasibility study for installing Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in a Mediterranean port is presented here. The final aim is to evaluate the possibility of building a green touristic infrastructure in a site having ordinary wave energy. In particular, the site of interest is Giardini Naxos, which is located in the northern Ionian coast of the island of Sicily (Italy). A preliminary estimation of the available energy has been carried out. The chosen type of WEC device is the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) system, which is found here to allow for good integration with the vertical breakwater needed for the extension of the existing port. Its feasibility is evaluated from the structural and economic point of view. Towards this aim, the system is tested in the laboratory for estimating the reflection coefficients and the pressures on the structure, which allow us to carry out the optimization of the OWC breakwater. Furthermore, the air turbine noise is estimated and an attenuation chamber is designed to reduce such noise to within acceptable levels. The economic feasibility study allows for an evaluation of the recuperation period of the investment, which is slightly less than the service life of the WEC device.
Highlights
Interest in the renewable energy resources has increased in recent years [1,2]
The chosen type of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) device is the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) system, which is found here to allow for good integration with the vertical breakwater needed for the extension of the existing port
The economic feasibility study allows for an evaluation of the recuperation period of the investment, which is slightly less than the service life of the WEC device
Summary
Interest in the renewable energy resources has increased in recent years [1,2]. In particular, countries with suitable coastlines are able to exploit wave energy that is associated with the motion of the water surface, produced by wind currents blowing across the sea. A classification of the WEC system is proposed in [16], which considers: (i) location of the device in respect of the coast; (ii) size and direction of the device compared to the incoming wave; and (iii) working principle Among such devices, attention is focused here on towards those types of WECs which can be embedded into the breakwater of the port, both in vertical wall and rubble mound dykes. The device is denominated OBREC (Overtopping BReakwater for Energy Conversion) and represents the world’s first WEC prototype, completely embedded into a breakwater, which exploits the wave overtopping process [27,31] It was installed inside an existing breakwater in an area of 75 m2, replacing part of the seaward armor layer. The feasibility of installing WECs inside a breakwater for port protection is investigated in the present work, by considering a site having ordinary wave energy availability. The following analysis compares hydrodynamic, structural and economic aspects of embedding the chosen WEC device in the breakwater
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