Abstract
Over recent decades, the exploitation of wave energy resources has sparked a wide range of technologies dedicated to capturing the available power with maximum efficiency, reduced costs, and minimum environmental impacts. These different objectives are fundamental to guarantee the development of the marine wave energy sector, but require also refined assessments of available resource and expected generated power to optimize devices designs and locations. We reviewed here the most recent resource characterizations starting from (i) investigations based on available observations (in situ and satellite) and hindcast databases to (ii) refined numerical simulations specifically dedicated to wave power assessments. After an overall description of formulations and energy metrics adopted in resource characterization, we exhibited the benefits, limitations and potential of the different methods discussing results obtained in the most energetic locations around the world. Particular attention was dedicated to uncertainties in the assessment of the available and expected powers associated with wave–climate temporal variability, physical processes (such as wave–current interactions), model implementation and energy extraction. This up-to-date review provided original methods complementing the standard technical specifications liable to feed advanced wave energy resource assessment.
Highlights
The exploitation of ocean renewable energy is an emerging alternative to the consumption of polluting and declining fossil fuels resources, contributing at the same time to the energy independence of marine countries
A part of these aspects appeared in technical specifications, we proposed here a review of the most recent resource assessments encompassing applications based on (i) available observations and (ii) hindcast databases, and (iii) refined simulations implemented for resource characterization
In effort to optimize the selection of wave energy converters (WEC) and location in the marine environment, a series of investigations have been suggested to reduce the uncertainties in wave energy resource assessments, with the development of indices/methodologies dedicated to the decision making process
Summary
The exploitation of ocean renewable energy is an emerging alternative to the consumption of polluting and declining fossil fuels resources, contributing at the same time to the energy independence of marine countries. In particular, fundamental to (i) identify the most promising locations for energy exploitation and (ii) optimize WEC design and construction costs to environmental conditions and available power [5]. For these reasons, a series of specifications and recommendations were established to conduct appropriate and accurate wave energy resource assessments [11,12,13,14]. The review focuses on the annual and seasonal variability of available wave power, the WEC performance and the economic cost of a power generation system The description of these metrics is complemented by a review of selection indexes considered to reduce uncertainties and biases in WEC design and locations (Section 2.3). More refined assessments including wave and tide coupling or the effects of energy extraction on the wave field are reviewed (Section 4.2)
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