The Ría de Muros is a large coastal embayment on the north-western coast of Spain in which the peak tidal currents exceed 2m/s. It is therefore a promising site for tidal stream power. The key point when assessing this resource is the accurate estimation of the tidal currents. In this work a...

Wave power presents significant advantages with regard to other CO2-free energy sources, among which the predictability, high load factor and low visual and environmental impact stand out. Galicia, facing the Atlantic on the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is subjected to a very...

The area around Cape Estaca de Bares (the northernmost point of Iberia) presents a great potential for wave energy exploitation owing to its prominent position, with average deepwater wave power values exceeding 40kW/m. The newly available SIMAR-44 dataset, composed of hindcast data spanning 44...

The wave energy resource of the SE Bay of Biscay is investigated using wave buoy data and a hindcast data set covering a 44-year period (1958–2001). Of the total 13 study sites, three correspond to wave buoys (two coastal, one in deep-water) and the rest to hindcast data points. First, the...

The objective of this work is to investigate how the impact of a wave farm on the nearshore wave conditions depends on its location and, more specifically, its distance to the coast. For this purpose eight case studies in an area with a very substantial wave resource are considered; they encompass...

The island of El Hierro (Spain), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Atlantic Ocean, aims to become the first 100% renewable energy island in the world. With a €54 million wind project already under way, the present research looks at the island’s wave resource using a 44-year hindcast dataset...

In many regions strong tidal flow occurs only in areas with restricted water depths, typically within estuaries or rias. Although in some of these areas the depth constraint may preclude the exploitation of this resource, in others it is exploitable – and substantial. The objective of this...

The location of a wave farm and, in particular, its distance to the coast is one of the key aspects in a wave energy project. The effects of the farm on the coast, which can be instrumental in mitigating storm-induced erosion and thus contribute to coastal defence, are sometimes disregarded in...