Wave energy converters as offshore wind farm guardians: a pathway to resilient ocean systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how wave energy converter farms can protect offshore wind turbines from wave-induced damage, significantly reducing costs and extending turbine lifespan, thus enhancing the resilience and economic viability of offshore renewable energy systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates the potential of WEC farms to shield offshore wind turbines from cyclic wave loading, reducing fatigue damage and costs, and enabling co-location benefits.

Findings

WEC farms can reduce turbine fatigue damage by up to 25%.

Co-located WEC and wind farms can cut system costs by nearly 50%.

WECs extend turbine lifetimes and lower LCOE.

Abstract

Maximizing the durability and reliability of offshore wind farms is essential for the clean energy transition. In this work, we demonstrate how wave energy converter (WEC) farms can shelter offshore wind farms from cyclic wave loading, resulting in significant reductions in turbine fatigue damage. Using experimentally validated hydrodynamic models, we show that WEC arrays can reduce wave-induced fatigue damage on the turbines by up to 25%, potentially lowering required monopile diameters and extending turbine lifetimes. This damage reduction propagates to the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the wind farm, targeting cost reductions in nearly 50% of the total system costs. Additionally, WEC farms can benefit from this co-location by sharing siting costs, operation and maintenance teams, and mooring and transmission cables with the offshore wind farm. This work supports resilient, cost-effective offshore renewables for global deployment.