Combining Offshore Renewable Energies and Addressing Variability

Abstract

Greece is a country that has numerous islands depending on conventional fossil fuels with electricity, fuel and transportation costs often subsidized by the State resulting in significant economic burdens. Small islands can benefit from adaptation of renewable energies to enhance their energy independence and promote sustainable development. In Greece majority of renewable sources utilized are wind and solar, however an un-tapped and under-investigated resource is wave energy. The wave resource encompasses higher energy density than wind and can contribute in the development of renewable energies, enhancing security of supply for smaller communities. Offshore locations offer significant advantages for renewable energy deployments with little interference on human activities and local ecosystems, hence reducing potential conflicts of interest and increasing social acceptance.
Wind and wave resources differ in availability, in terms of energy production wind turbines can be estimated quite straightforward, on the other hand wave energy converters (WECs) require complex consideration and resource implication on energy production. Pending on regional focus different WECs are suitable, leading to different production profiles with WEC selection highly dependent on local long-term metocean condition. This study quantifies the temporal overlap by offshore wind and wave converters, in several locations around Greece using wind and wave data. Temporal overlap on energy production over long periods leads to robust results concerning the potential benefits by offshore devices.