A holistic methodology for the planning of hydrokinetic energy projects in coastal regionsapplication to the shannon estuary (w ireland)

Resumo

This thesis develops a comprehensive methodology for the exploitation of the hydrokinetic energy resource in coastal regions -a specific type of marine renewable energy (MRE)-, overcoming the limitations of the currently available procedures, and whose application to a coastal area of interest will provide the required information for an informed decision-making process. The methodology comprises three different procedures, each of them providing a specific index designed to analyse different stages of hydrokinetic energy farm planning, from initial designs to full scale MRE projects, increasing in complexity and accuracy as planning progresses: (i) Tidal Stream Exploitability index adapted to non-depth-limited areas, TSEndl index, for projects at preliminary stages; (ii) Integrated Hydrokinetic Energy index, IHE index, for projects at early stages; and (iii) Cost-Effective Analysis (CEA) in terms of Levelized Costs of Energy based on the IHE index, LCOEIHE, for projects at final stages. These procedures resort to high-resolution hydrodynamic numerical modelling and advanced geospatial analysis techniques and algorithms, being illustrated through their application to a case study in the Shannon Estuary (W Ireland), a non-depth-limited macrotidal estuary subject to significant fluvial discharges and renowned for its potential for hydrokinetic energy exploitation.