This work illustrates the GIS-based methodology developed to evaluate the actual availability of sea areas suitable for the development of offshore renewable energy sources (RES), in particular offshore wind power and devices for the exploitation of wave power (Wave Energy Converter – WEC). These technologies are attracting an ever-increasing interest in relation to the need to find additional solutions to the more consolidated RES technologies for the achievement of the decarbonisation objectives to 2030 and 2050.
The exploitation of the actual potential from marine sources involves both a technical-economic evaluation of the areas based on the availability of the energy resource and the technical-economic constraints for its exploitation, and an evaluation of the areas in light of environmental protection and other uses of the sea, according to the principles of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). In particular, as regards offshore wind potential, the methodology makes use of the new detailed database of the wind resource developed by RSE for the whole offshore area, the bathymetry, the distance from the coast and updated information on offshore wind technology ( Levelized Cost of Energy – LCOE).
As regards the exploitation of wave power, for which it is more difficult to produce general and overall assessments for the entire marine space due to the many devices under development and their still medium-low Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the potential in intermediate waters (nearshore) and on the coast (shoreline) of the devices for which the power matrices are available was explored in two case studies (Capraia island and Pantelleria island), which adds to last year’s evaluations concerning the offshore potential. Nearshore and shoreline installations take on a certain importance from an economic point of view thanks to their proximity to the coast and therefore to lower installation and maintenance costs.