Wave farms for coastal protection: A systematic review of effectiveness, methodologies, and future directions

Abstract

The dual use of wave farms for coastal protection and renewable energy has emerged as a potential solution to reduce the high Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCoE) of wave energy. This dual functionality offers effective coastal protection that is adaptable to rising sea levels, while simultaneously generating carbon-free energy. This systematic review explores the effectiveness of wave farms in attenuating wave energy and mitigating coastal erosion, with a focus on the methodologies employed in previous studies, key findings, and challenges. Results indicate that wave farms can reduce wave heights by 10 %–50 % and erosion during short term storm events by 15 %–45 %, depending on factors such as location and wave conditions, Wave Energy Converter (WEC) array layout, device spacing and distance from the shore. Nearshore deployments have achieved the highest levels of wave attenuation, particularly during high-energy storm events. Optimized array configurations such as linear, multi-row or closely spaced layouts further enhance coastal protection by reducing wave energy and promoting sediment deposition. However, the review also highlights critical gaps including the need for field-based validation; comprehensive long-term studies on the impacts of wave farms on coastal morphodynamics, and the development of multi-objective optimization frameworks that consider both energy generation and coastal protection in the design of wave farms.