Search

This article aims to analyse the economic viability of floating wave energy farms for the present and the next twenty years. The energy potential of the waves mainly depends on the climate, so the current and near future analysis is crucial to determine the economic viability of wave energy farms in a particular location. Current and near future wave resources were considered to assess the main parameters (Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)) that allow to know the economic feasibility of wave energy farms. This study takes one step forward in determining the economic evaluation of wave energy farms located in deep waters using their future energy projections. The case of study in this paper is the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Results indicate that the future wave energy reduction principally affects the NPV and LCOE of the wave farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse the economic viability of floating wave energy farms for the present and the next twenty years. The energy potential of the waves mainly depends on the climate, so the current and near future analysis is crucial to determine the economic viability of wave energy farms in a particular location. Current and near future wave resources were considered to assess the main parameters (Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)) that allow to know the economic feasibility of wave energy farms. This study takes one step forward in determining the economic evaluation of wave energy farms located in deep waters using their future energy projections. The case of study in this paper is the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Results indicate that the future wave energy reduction principally affects the NPV and LCOE of the wave farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present paper presents the methodology and development of a planning tool for the installation of marine renewable energy systems, which enables the identification of suitable areas for this purpose. The marine spatial planning is one of the challenges of the offshore renewable energies. This is one of the reasons to write this paper, because there are areas where the energy potential is great but with real limitations for installing an offshore renewable energy farm. This methodology is based on the development of automated and interactive GIS tools in order to enable the user to change inputs according to his research objectives. The developed tools are applied to a case study referring to the Portuguese coast and the obtained results enable the identification of several areas, suitable for the development of marine renewable energies projects. The methodology and the developed tools intend to be a contribution for the Maritime Spatial Planning of the Portuguese coast and can be applied to other countries as well whenever the necessary information is available. Highlights • Methodology and development of a planning tool for marine renewable energy. • Identification of suitable areas of installing. • GIS tools to change inputs according to his objectives. • Maritime Spatial Planning of the Portuguese coast. • Results identify suitable areas for marine renewable energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A methodology is presented to assess the life-cycle costs of combined or hybrid floating offshore renewable energy systems, which is also applicable to general floating offshore renewable energy devices. It accounts explicitly for their life-cycle stages: concept definition, design and development, manufacturing, installation, exploitation and dismantling. It is a tool for decision-making and strategic planning, enabling a better understanding of the technological solutions and the aspects that might accelerate or decelerate the development of the industry. The method presented can be useful for comparing different types of floating offshore hybrid renewable energy technologies in terms of costs. The general methodology has been applied for the particular case of two specific hybrid systems: the W2Power and the Poseidon. Results for two locations in Portugal (São Pedro de Moel and Aguçadoura) indicate that the exploitation, manufacturing and the installation costs are the most important ones, with the exploitation cost being the most important for the W2Power and the manufacturing cost being the most important for the Poseidon. The Levelized Cost Of Energy is lower in São Pedro de Moel but when considering the technology the W2Power has lower Levelized Cost Of Energy in the single unit scenarios and the Poseidon in the farm scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]