 Wave energy potential in Galicia (NW Spain)G. Iglesias, M. López, R. Carballo, A. Castro, J.A. Fraguela and P. Frigaard Renewable Energy, 2009, vol. 34, issue 11, 2323-2333 Abstract: Wave power presents significant advantages with regard to other CO2-free energy sources, among which the predictability, high load factor and low visual and environmental impact stand out. Galicia, facing the Atlantic on the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is subjected to a very harsh wave climate; in this work its potential for energy production is assessed based on three-hourly data from a third generation ocean wave model (WAM) covering the period 1996–2005. Taking into account the results of this assessment along with other relevant considerations such as the location of ports, navigation routes, and fishing and aquaculture zones, an area is selected for wave energy exploitation. The transformation of the offshore wave field as it propagates into this area is computed by means of a nearshore wave model (SWAN) in order to select the optimum locations for a wave farm. Two zones emerge as those with the highest potential for wave energy exploitation. The large modifications in the available wave power resulting from relatively small changes of position are made apparent in the process. Keywords: Wave energy; Wave power; Renewable energy; Galicia; Numerical model; Wave propagation (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:34:y:2009:i:11:p:2323-2333 DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2009.03.030 Access Statistics for this article Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier |
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