ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF A PILOT ZONE FOR WAVE ENERGY CONVERSION OFFSHORE PORTUGAL

摘要

The present study aims at studying the impact of energy absorption by wave farms on the nearshore wave climate. The study was applied to the Maritime Pilot Zone recently created by the Portuguese government to support the deployment of offshore wave energy prototypes and farms. This Zone is located off the west coast between the 30 m and 90 m bathymetric lines, with an area of 320 Km~2. The present study aims at establishing a methodology to analyse how the pilot zone will potentially affect the nearshore wave climate. In fact, the objective is to estimate the change of the wave characteristics (wave height and wave direction) at the nearshore when wave farms are deployed in the pilot zone. In this study the REFDIF model was adapted in order to model the energy extraction by wave farms.