An Overview of the Expected Shoreline Impact of the Marine Energy Farms Operating in Different Coastal Environments

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to provide an overview of the possible implications involving the influence of a generic marine energy farm on the nearshore processes. Several case studies covering various European coastal areas are considered for illustration purposes. These include different nearshore areas, such as the Portuguese coast, Sardinia Island or a coastal sector close to the Danube Delta in the Black Sea. For the case studies related to the Portuguese coast, it is noted that a marine energy farm may reduce the velocity of the longshore currents, with a complete attenuation of the current velocity for some case studies in the coastal area from Leixoes region being observed. For the area located close to the Danube Delta, it is estimated that in the proposed configuration, a marine energy farm would provide an efficient protection against the wave action, but it will have a relatively negligible impact on the longshore currents. Summarizing the results, we can conclude that a marine energy farm seems to be beneficial for coastal protection, even in the case of the enclosed areas, such as the Mediterranean or Black seas, where the erosion generated by the wave action represents a real problem.