Optimizing co-located offshore wave and wind energy systems: Feasibility, design, and portfolios assessment

This paper investigates the co-location of wind and wave energy systems, with a focus on mooring configurations, portfolio optimization, and strategies for enhancing system efficiency and economic viability. The study examines the Pelamis and Reference Model 3 (RM3) wave energy converters, integrated with offshore wind turbines along a region of the U.S. East Coast under extreme wind–wave conditions. A portfolio optimization model is employed to identify the optimal mix of wind and wave energy technologies, considering technology costs, transmission limits, and curtailment. Various mooring configurations are assessed using dynamic simulations in ANSYS AQWA to evaluate cost-effectiveness, structural safety, and performance. The research also explores shared anchoring strategies to reduce the number of required anchors, optimize spatial layouts, and decrease infrastructure costs. The findings emphasize the current challenges posed by the high costs of wave energy compared to wind energy, though future cost reductions could improve the feasibility of co-located systems. Integrating wave energy into existing wind infrastructure has the potential to increase energy output and maximize transmission capacity utilization, contributing to the development of sustainable and efficient marine renewable energy systems. • Optimal mooring systems are identified for Pelamis and RM3 WECs. • The shared anchoring method using micropile groups is investigated in RM3 arrays. • RM3 can be anchored economically by foundations of smaller (≤5 MW) OWTs. • Portfolio optimization model is employed to identify optimal wind-wave co-location. • Co-locating OWTs with Pelamis maximizes transmission capacity utilization.