Modelling Identifies Optimal Offshore Renewables Sites

Researchers have developed a computational model that identifies the best combination of location and energy technologies to maximize offshore energy production, reducing the financial risk associated with investing in offshore renewable energy projects.

The model accounts for different types of wind and marine hydrokinetic technologies, the best location for co-siting these technologies, and the best size of the relevant technologies.

“Offshore energy technologies – such as marine hydrokinetic devices that convert the ocean’s tides, current and waves into electricity – hold tremendous potential for producing sustainable energy at a reasonable cost,” says Anderson de Queiroz, co-author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University. “We also know that putting wind turbines and marine hydrokinetic devices in the same location makes it possible to ensure a reliable flow of energy from offshore sites.

“However, the initial cost of building these offshore sites is considerable, so it is important for utilities to know that a project is going to maximize the return on their investment,” de Queiroz says. “That’s where our work comes in.”

The researchers have developed a model called a portfolio optimization framework. If a utility is considering