Integration of Marine Wave Energy Converters into Seaports: A Case Study in the Port of Valencia

Abstract

A feasibility study for the installation of Wave Energy Converters (WEC) in a Spanish Mediterranean port is evaluated in this paper. The final aim is to evaluate the possibility of building a new infrastructure which combines a breakwater and a WEC able to provide energy to the commercial port of Valencia. An estimation of the wave power potential is made according to existing databases from different sources. A review of the existing WEC types is carried out in order to choose the most suitable technology for its installation in a port environment. The authors discuss the main advantages and issues of the integration of WEC in port breakwaters. A prospective study for the Port of Valencia is made, considering the port energy demand evolution, historical data on wave energy potential and the port expansion plans. We conclude that Overtopping Devices (OTDs) are the most suitable ones to allow the good integration with the new breakwater needed for the expansion of the Port of Valencia and we give an estimation on the power available from the resource in our case study.

Theoretical Evaluation of the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Arrays of Vertical Axisymmetric Floaters of Arbitrary Shape in front of a Vertical Breakwater

“…Looking towards the possible advantages provided by installing of WEC devices in near-or on-shore areas or close to other maritime structures, several studies have been presented in the literature. Indicatively, in [9] the most representative existent wave energy converters were evaluated in various offshore and near-shore areas, whereas, in [10] the installation of a WEC device in a port with dual operation, i.e., both as a breakwater as well as a wave energy device was examined.…”

Technologies to assist in the energy transition to the next century

“…Morsy El-Gohary 12 overviews the most effective types of marine power plants, though he consider such plants as operating on clean fuel, and first of all, this is the hydrogen as fuel for marine internal combustion engine, gas turbines, and fuel cells. In particular, review papers [13][14][15] discuss marine and tide wave stations as a possible perspective of energy generation from the sea; nevertheless, these works do not bring an idea of really an industrial powerful plant.…”

Evaluation of Co-Existence Options of Marine Renewable Energy Projects in Japan

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