Coastal impact of a hybrid marine farm operating close to the Sardinia Island

The objective of the present work is to evaluate the down wave conditions and the coastal impact induced by a hybrid wave-wind farm that would operate close to the Sardinia Island in the Mediterranean Sea. The target area was selected in the vicinity of Porto Ferro, which is located in the northern part of the island. Considering the most relevant environmental patterns, SWAN model simulations have been performed in order to assess the possible impact of the marine power plant. As regards the hybrid farm considered, it can be mentioned that this is located in the center of the target area and it is developed around some WindFloat offshore wind turbines. Such kind of floating wind turbines are already operational, both in the North Sea and in the Iberian nearshore. For the present study, a number of 11 floating platforms were considered, the spatial configuration of the farm being designed according to the standard prescriptions of the wind turbine manufacturer. Furthermore, a generic wave farm was considered to be implemented over a distance of 3.5 km at about 500 m up wave the wind farm. The most important conclusion coming from the present work is that the future marine power plants, besides extracting renewable energy, can play also an active role in coastal protection.