The economic profitability of future wave energy production along the Galician coast is assessed by analyzing the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) under different Capital Expenditure (CapEx) scenarios and two discounts rates (5% and 10%). Wave resources for the near future under the RCP8.5 scenario are downscaled using SWAN, providing up to 75 m spatial resolution in coastal areas. The study's goal is to enhance the cost-effectiveness by selecting the most suitable wave energy converter (WEC) for each location. Fourteen WECs operating at different depths are considered. This analysis reveals that the Atargis device boasts the lowest LCoE for 64.2% of the coastal area, mainly in deep waters, with an LCoE of 77 €/MWh. In addition, the Oyster and Wave Dragon devices exhibit the lowest LCoE for 12.4% and 15.0% of the coastal area, respectively, excelling in shallow waters and near the coast, with values of 50 €/MWh and 97 €/MWh. These findings demonstrate the profitability of wave energy production along the Galician coast, even when considering a more conservative CapEx of 3 M€/MW, resulting in a cost of 140 €/MWh. This conclusion takes into account the evolving electricity prices in Spain, which reached 0.2068 €/kWh in the second half of 2023.@en

Magallana gigas is a naturalized species on the north coast of Galicia (Rías Altas, Northwest Iberian Peninsula), where it was unintentionally introduced. In recent decades, a greater abundance of M. gigas has been observed on the Galician coast, expanding towards the south, reaching the Artabro Gulf (Rías Centrales, NW Galician coast), probably due to ocean warming. Although this species has been cultivated in the Rías Baixas since the early 1990s and spawning has been reported, recruitment was never observed, which is likely due to the cold water upwelled during the spawning months. The future rise in seawater temperature may favor the naturalization of the non-indigenous species M. gigas southwards, in the Rías Baixas. Thermally, the Ría de Arousa seems to be the most favorable estuary for the future settlement of M. gigas, which may occur in the next decades. The extent of thermally favorable zones within estuaries is projected to increase rapidly by mid-century, and reaching 100 % of the estuarine area by the end of the century. As has already happened in other areas of the world, the expansion and naturalization of the Pacific oyster on the Galician coast will likely affect the native communities and economic activities, making it necessary to implement monitoring and management strategies to mitigate its effect.@en

Two computational models, Simulating WAve till SHore (SWASH) and DualSPHysics, with different computational costs and capabilities have been hybridized in this work. SWASH is a time-domain wave model based on a finite difference method for simulating nonhydrostatic, free-surface and rotational flow while DualSPHysics is a Lagrangian meshless model based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) technique. SWASH is a reliable model to generate and propagate waves in large domains, whereas DualSPHysics is normally used in areas close to the coastline to provide a detailed description of the interaction between sea waves and coastal structures. The presented technique is a one-way coupling, with a hybridization point where the information from SWASH is passed to DualSPHysics. SWASH is used to propagate waves along the fluid domain and to calculate velocities at different depths at the position of the hybridization point. Waves in DualSPHysics are generated by means of a moving boundary (MB) whose displacement in time is reconstructed using the velocities provided by SWASH. Each particle that forms the MB is displaced with its correspondent velocity that depends on its depth. The hybridization technique is validated with experimental data and the resulting model is proved to reproduce accurately wave heights and orbital velocities. Thus, the hybrid model preserves the flexibility and capabilities of DualSPHysics with important improvements in efficiency. In addition, it simulates wave propagation even more accurately than DualSPHysics taking advantage of SWASH strengths.
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