Wave energy potential along the Death Coast (Spain)

The newly available SIMAR-44 data set, covering a 44-year period, is used together with wave buoy data to assess the wave energy resource along the Death Coast, the craggy stretch from Cape Finisterre to the Sisarga Isles. Its location at the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula and its coastline configuration result in exposure to a wide range of wave directions over the long Atlantic fetch. A total of 18 study sites are analysed—16 SIMAR-44 points and two wave buoys. Annual wave power in the Death Coast area is of the order of 50kWm−1, and annual wave energy exceeds 400MWhm−1. This vast resource is characterised thoroughly in terms of wave directions, heights and periods. A coastal wave propagation model (SWAN) is then implemented, validated based on wave buoy measurements, and used to investigate the nearshore energetic patterns. The irregular bathymetry of the Death Coast is shown to lead to local concentrations of wave energy off Capes Veo, Tosto and Finisterre and north of the Sisargas Isles, which are more conspicuous in winter and, especially, in storm situations.