Experimental Measurement of Wave Field Variations around Wave Energy Converter Arrays

Louise O’Boyle, Björn Elsäßer and Trevor Whittaker
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Louise O’Boyle: School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
Björn Elsäßer: School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
Trevor Whittaker: School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Wave energy converters (WECs) inherently extract energy from incident waves. For wave energy to become a significant power provider in the future, large farms of WECs will be required. This scale of energy extraction will increase the potential for changes in the local wave field and coastal environment. Assessment of these effects is necessary to inform decisions on the layout of wave farms for optimum power output and minimum environmental impact, as well as on potential site selection. An experimental campaign to map, at high resolution, the wave field variation around arrays of 5 oscillating water column WECs and a methodology for extracting scattered and radiated waves is presented. The results highlight the importance of accounting for the full extent of the WEC behavior when assessing impacts on the wave field. The effect of radiated waves on the wave field is not immediately apparent when considering changes to the entire wave spectrum, nor when observing changes in wave climate due to scattered and radiated waves superimposed together. The results show that radiated waves may account for up to 50% of the effects on wave climate in the near field in particular operating conditions.

Keywords: wave energy converter arrays; wave fields; environmental impact; experimental testing; polychromatic wave packet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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