Sara Ramos1, Carlos Guedes Soares1
1 Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal
E-mails: sara.marin@tecnico.ulisboa.pt; c.guedes.soares@centec.tecnico.ulisboa.pt
In a framework of increasing energy demand, small islands face demanding energetic challenges due to its isolation from the continental electrical networks and strong dependence on imported fuel. Often, these islands have better renewable energy resources than the continental mainland, but they are not being used to their full extent due to technical, economic and legislative barriers. Such is the case of the European Outer Regions (OR), formed by the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, and Saint-Martin. Most efforts in small islands to date had a special focus on the integration of solar photovoltaic and onshore wind energy. However, given the vast surrounding ocean, strategies should also be driven towards the exploration of wave energy.
Detailed studies should be developed to demonstrate the feasibility of wave energy integration on the OR electric markets. Some critical steps must be followed: firstly, exhaustive analyses of each regional electric market and the capacity of the electric network and the available storage capacity are needed. This would give insights on the wave energy penetration opportunities and help on the dimensioning tasks of a potential wave farm. Secondly, the legal and environmental framework needs to be put under inquiry to understand potential barriers and put forward alternatives or solutions. Thirdly, spatial surveys are required to comprehend the marine space availability. Studies aiming at calculate the spatial LCOE of potential wave energy exploration facilities is also mandatory in a fourth step in order to optimize its economic performance. In the last two steps, Geographical Information Systems can play an important role. Finally, specialized local human resources should be reinforced and private or public funding opportunities need to be spotted.
The OR should thus be seen by governments, investors and policy makers as good opportunities for the on-site development of innovative wave energy conversion systems that would lead the transition towards islands self-sustainability, becoming lighthouse projects for other islands and all over the world.
References
Maldonado, E. (2017). Energy in the EU Outermost Regions (Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency) - Final Report. 1–21. Retrieved from:
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/themes/outermost-regions/pdf/energy_report_en.pdf
IRENA (2018). Transforming small-island power systems: Technical planning studies for the integration of variable renewables. Retrieved from www.irena.org
COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers.
A stakeholder-based decision support system to manage wave energy farms
Hugo Díaz1, Sara Ramos1, George Lavidas2, Carlos Guedes Soares1
1 Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal
2 Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE), Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD, Delft, the Netherlands
E-mails: hugo.martinez@centec.tecnico.ulisboa.pt; sara.marin@tecnico.ulisboa.pt; g.lavidas@tudelft.nl;
c.guedes.soares@centec.tecnico.ulisboa.pt
The purpose of this study will be to examine the current level of stakeholder involvement during the wave farm project planning process. Stakeholders often provide the needed resources and have the ability to control the interaction and resource flows in the network. They also ultimately have a strong impact on an organization's or enterprises' survival, and therefore appropriate management and involvement of key stakeholders should be an important part of any project management plan.
A series of literature reviews will be conducted to identify and categorize significant phases involved in the development and consent of a wave energy farm. For data collection, a questionnaire survey will be designed and distributed among the main stakeholders (companies, regulatory bodies, environmental organizations, etc.) who will be involved in the wave energy sector in the European Union.
The results of the analysis will provide the engagement levels of the stakeholder groups as well as the input data that will be involved in the wave farms planning process. Moreover, the result of surveys will be conducted to establish the basis for decision improvement related to the proposed model for wave farms site selection [1,2].
References
[1] Ramos, S., Díaz, H., Lavidas G., Guedes Soares C. (2021) Identifying compatible locations for wave energy exploration with different wave energy devices in Madeira Islands. Developments in Renewable Energies Offshore, Ed. Guedes Soares (Ed.) Taylor & Francis Group, London, 111-122.
[2] Díaz, H., Lavidas G., Ramos, S., Guedes Soares C. (2019) A decision support system to evaluate wave energy farms siting. Book-of-Abstracts__WECANet-COST-Action-CA17105__General-Assembly-2019, WECANet COST Action CA17105, 122-123.
COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers.
Abstracts for
WECANet Short Term Scientific Missions
COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers.
COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers.