Evaluation of Australian offshore wind and wave energy resources for joint exploitation

Abstract

The diminishing supply of fossil fuels and the critical need for environmental protection have increased the emphasis on renewable energy sources to achieve clean energy. Offshore wind and wave energy resources offer significant potential and consistent availability. This study explores the joint exploitability of these energy resources in the Australian offshore region using a two-stage framework. The first stage identifies hotspots based on energy resources potential, variability, cross-correlation, and their complementarity by providing a heatmap using over four decades of re-analysis and hindcast data. The second stage ranks the selected hotspots by assessing extreme weather conditions and site accessibility for operations and maintenance. The study identifies ten optimal sites, on the western and southern coasts of Australia, with high energy potential, low cross-correlation, low variability, high complementarity, and acceptable accessibility. Finally, the performance of four combinations of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) and wave energy converters (WECs) was analyzed at these hotspots. The results showed that the SWT-Wave Star combination generally outperforms others, while SWT-Wave Dragon is optimal in some cases. These combinations offer higher annual energy production, capacity factor, and manageable power variability, making them ideal for maximizing energy production and operational stability.