Study of the Wave Energy Propagation Patterns in the Western Black Sea

Abstract

The most relevant patterns of the wave energy propagation in the western side of the Black Sea were assessed in the present work. The emphasis was put on the western side because this is also the most energetic part of the Black Sea. The assessments performed relate some recent results provided by a numerical wave modeling system based on the spectrum concept. The SWAN model (acronym for Simulating Waves Nearshore) was considered. This was implemented over the entire sea basin and focused with increasing resolution in the geographical space towards the Romanian nearshore. Furthermore, some data assimilation techniques have also been implemented, such that the results provided are accurate and reliable. Special attention was paid to the high, but not extreme, winter wave energy conditions. The cases considered are focused on the coastal waves generated by distant storms, which means the local wind has not very high values in the targeted areas. This also takes into account the fact that the configuration of the environmental matrix in the Black Sea is currently subjected to significant changes mainly due to the climate change. From this perspective, the present work illustrates some of the most recent patterns of wave energy propagation in the western side of the Black Sea, considering eight different SWAN computational domains. According to most of the recent evaluations, the nearshore of the Black Sea is characterized by an average wave power lower than 6 kW/m. The results of the present work show that there is a real tendency of the wave energy enhancement. This tendency, especially concerns the western side of the basin, where in the high conditions considered, values of the wave power about 10 times greater than the average have been noticed. despite some initial difficulties related to the high cost of installation and operating conditions in the harsh marine environment, very high dynamics in increasing the efficiency of the offshore wind can be also noticed. This is measured, especially through the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), which reached a record value of about 7 c€/kWh in 2017, or less. Thus, 5.5 c€/kWh have been reported at the 700 MW Borssele (The Netherlands) due to government tender and size, and 5c €/kWh (without transmission) at the 600 MW Kriegers Flak (Denmark) [2]. This means the offshore wind becomes now not only the cheapest marine renewable energy resource, but it is also cheaper than some traditional resources. For example, the current average LCOE for atomic energy is still about 11 c€/kWh, or greater [3].Various studies [4][5][6][7] showed that the wind energy resources along the coasts of the Black Sea, and especially in its western side, are comparable with those from many offshore wind farms that are already operational [8][9][10][11]. Thus, it is expected that the high dynamics of the offshore wind industry will have as a result also the implementation of some wind farm projects in the nearshore of the Black Sea, in general and in its western side, which is more energetic, in spe...

Sustainable Energy Systems Planning, Integration, and Management

“…Focusing on wave energy harvesting, the paper authored by Eugen Rusu [1] assessed the most relevant patterns of the wave energy propagation in the western side of the Black Sea considering eight different simulating waves nearshore computational domains. Special attention was paid to the high, but not extreme, winter wave energy conditions.…”

UXO Assessment on the Romanian Black Sea Coast

“…These forces may be affected by the mod-ification of both wave and tidal processes in nearshore areas, which can cause larger forces to be exerted on objects or sediments on the seabed. The relationship between water depth and wavelength affects the strength of these coastal processes [30][31][32][33][34] . Therefore, information about these factors can be used to determine the depth of a wave's influence and whether the wave will have significant interaction with objects like UXO present on the seabed.…”

Long-Term Analysis of the Black Sea Weather Windows

“…The simulations were carried out in the non-stationary mode with a time step of 10 min, considering in the spectral space, 36 directions and 30 frequencies (ranging between 0.05 and 1.0 Hz). All the wave model settings considered in the present work are those used in previous studies performed in the Black Sea area [30][31][32][33]. The SWAN model results were validated against in-situ and satellite measurements [30,31].…”

“…All the wave model settings considered in the present work are those used in previous studies performed in the Black Sea area [30][31][32][33]. The SWAN model results were validated against in-situ and satellite measurements [30,31]. Moreover, the accuracy of the wave model results was also evaluated under storm conditions [32].…”