| Summary: |
The progressive growth of the sea ports' activity brings many challenges, namely the increase of the energy consumption and pollution. The implementation of renewable energy converters in sea ports, like Wave Energy Converters (WEC), allows preparing these important infrastructures for future, ensuring sustainable and environmentally friendly developments.
Harbour breakwaters are structures designed to withstand wave action and to promote the dissipation of wave energy at the entrance of the harbour, allowing the creation of sheltered conditions for port activities. Due to their usual high exposure to ocean waves, these structures have a high potential for the implementation of WECs. This new approach improves the cost-effectiveness of breakwaters. Most applications are based on the oscillating water column (Pico Island, PT, and Mutriku, SP, approaching TRL8) or on the overtopping principle (e.g., SSG at TRL3/4 or below). However, none of those devices is installed or has been designed to be integrated in a breakwater of a large port. In fact, the main objective of the already installed devices was to validate its implementation in realistic conditions and, for that reason, they lack an integrated, multipurpose-driven design aimed at maximizing the technology efficiency, power production and long-term reliability, while still reducing visual impacts and overall construction costs. Furthermore, they do not explore the possibility of combining different technologies to harness wave energy.
The integration of high potential, already proven overtopping concepts (TRL3) in breakwaters of large ports will be studied by means of physical and numerical modelling, using "wave-to-wire" models. In order to improve the system overall performance, hybrid systems combining overtopping with other working principles will be analysed together with energy storage, to explore the potential of this original approach. The case-studies, with different characteristic  |
Summary
The progressive growth of the sea ports' activity brings many challenges, namely the increase of the energy consumption and pollution. The implementation of renewable energy converters in sea ports, like Wave Energy Converters (WEC), allows preparing these important infrastructures for future, ensuring sustainable and environmentally friendly developments.
Harbour breakwaters are structures designed to withstand wave action and to promote the dissipation of wave energy at the entrance of the harbour, allowing the creation of sheltered conditions for port activities. Due to their usual high exposure to ocean waves, these structures have a high potential for the implementation of WECs. This new approach improves the cost-effectiveness of breakwaters. Most applications are based on the oscillating water column (Pico Island, PT, and Mutriku, SP, approaching TRL8) or on the overtopping principle (e.g., SSG at TRL3/4 or below). However, none of those devices is installed or has been designed to be integrated in a breakwater of a large port. In fact, the main objective of the already installed devices was to validate its implementation in realistic conditions and, for that reason, they lack an integrated, multipurpose-driven design aimed at maximizing the technology efficiency, power production and long-term reliability, while still reducing visual impacts and overall construction costs. Furthermore, they do not explore the possibility of combining different technologies to harness wave energy.
The integration of high potential, already proven overtopping concepts (TRL3) in breakwaters of large ports will be studied by means of physical and numerical modelling, using "wave-to-wire" models. In order to improve the system overall performance, hybrid systems combining overtopping with other working principles will be analysed together with energy storage, to explore the potential of this original approach. The case-studies, with different characteristics and exposures to waves, will allow designing site-specific solutions, combining wave energy harvesting and harbour protection, considering the local conditions and the energetic needs of the whole port infrastructure and associated activities.
To achieve this purpose, it is necessary to characterize: (i) the offshore wave conditions, (ii) wave conditions at the toe of the breakwater (inside and outside the port), (iii) wave energy in front of the WEC. As case studies sites, the Port of Leixões (Porto, Portugal) and Port of Taliarte (Gran Canaria, Spain) are suggested. After, a concept will be physical and numerically modelled in order to: (i) study its hydrodynamic behaviour, (ii) define the best design for the foundations, (iii) combine different approaches of harnessing wave energy, (iv) define which PTO suits better the power generation, (v) establish control strategies to be applied, (vi) explore the integration of storage systems and, finally, (vii) measure both the effectiveness and efficiency, taking into account Lean Principles by apply Lean Design-for-Excellence (LDfX) tool. All scientific activities will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. At the beginning of the project the TRL will be 3 and in the end of the project we expect to reach the TRL 4-5 with the full set of laboratory tests of the reduced-scale model. |