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This study is a first attempt at bridging functional data of five different wind turbines whose performances were recently researched in our studies with the framework of Burloiu, Rusu (Pre-planning for Black Sea offshore wind farms: a wind speed dataset for three Romanian coastal locations), while maintaining the overall goal of exploring the possibility of wind farms implementation along the Black Sea coast. Therefore, we intend to create a visual data narrative based on some of the pivotal elements of the studies mentioned above, using only the best of the three potential hotspots researched based on archived information provided by GFS, NCEP, US NATIONAL SERVICE and gradual cross-reading of the technical and cost related findings of Raileanu, Onea and Rusu.

Overcome by the increasing energy demands nowadays and the limited traditional resources, the foremost objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficiency of a floating wind farm operating in the coastal environment of the western Black Sea. Since coastal erosion has become a matter of urgent concern during the last decades and many states in the EU (European Union) consider the issue of coastal protection to be of utmost national importance, this study aims to reveal the positive effects such project might provide to the coastal area of Romania. Due to significant decrease of sediments from the Danube basin to the coast in the north along with the extensive development of tourist resorts, especially in the southern part, the erosion process has become more explicit, posing a severe threat primarily on the population living within an area of tens of kilometres from the coast. To provide a better overview of the principal wave patterns in the targeted area, the ERA5 dataset has been considered for the evaluation of the wave power for the 40-year period (1979–2018) for two reference points located in the proximity of the target area. Four scenarios for the simulations were carried out with a computational structure that combines a circulation model with a wave model. A generic wind farm was defined in the computational domain, taking into consideration steadily increasing distances from the shoreline: 4, 6 and 8 km. Firstly, taking into account the local wave patterns, and three-wave parameters — the significant wave height, the mean wave height and direction, the down-wave effect of the farm was evaluated. Secondly, the influence of the generic farm on the longshore currents was also assessed. The concluding results suggest that if such a project is to be taken into consideration, it would not only provide valuable renewable energy, but it would also guarantee adequate coastal protection by reducing the impact of waves and intensify resilience to terrible weather.

The paper presents an analysis of the wind energy availability on long-term basis in the Republic of Moldova. This is motivated by the necessity of increasing the renewable energy sources in the global energy portfolio of the Republic of Moldova. Although there are some studies on this subject, concluding that there is a satisfactory wind energy potential, there are no references on the future evolution of the wind energy. Starting from the analysis of the historical wind speed data corresponding to the 31-year period 1990–2020 and taking into account the most significant geographic and civil requirements, several locations were chosen as possible targets for the future wind farms placement. An analysis of the predicted wind data for the 31-year period 2020–2050 based on RCP4.5 scenario, allowed to identify the optimal areas for the wind energy extraction in the republic of Moldova.

The objective of the present work is to assess the wave power in the North Sea in the vicinity of the most relevant wind farms that are operating there. At this moment, the coastal environment of the North Sea is among the most significant areas in the world from the point of view of harvesting marine renewable energy. Furthermore, this area is also very relevant for offshore activities related to oil and gas extraction. From this perspective, its coastal environment would be a perfect candidate for the implementation of the wave projects, which would benefit from existing infrastructure. The ERA5 dataset has been considered for the evaluation of the wave power for the 30-year period (1989–2018). 10 reference points have been defined in the coastal environment of the sea covering the most relevant locations and for them, the mean wave power has been first assessed. After this, the seasonal and monthly variability of the wave power have been also evaluated together with some statistical parameters. The results show that the northern part of the sea has relatively significant wave energy resources and it can be a viable candidate for implementation of the future wave projects. However, the linear trends indicate a slight tendency of decrease of the wave power, but on the other hand, the coefficient of resource variation has small values. Finally, a comparison with the satellite data provided by the European Space Agency is also carried out for the 27-year period 1992-2018. While in general there is a very good concordance between the two datasets, for the reference points located in the north-eastern part of the sea, which are the most resourceful locations, the satellite data indicate higher values.

Municipal solid wastes (MSW) are, through the amount generated and energy content, one of the energy resources that can successfully contribute to covering energy consumption at local or regional level. The integration of this resource in modern energy systems can increase the penetration of renewable energy resources in energy supply. One of the most promising technologies for converting waste into energy is gasification. As conventional district heating and cooling systems require decarbonization, one solution is the use of waste gasification and solar energy conversion equipment. This paper analysis from an energetic and economic point of view the possibility of using the fuel produced by the gasification of refuse derived fuel (RDF) and solar thermal energy in a gas engine based combined cooling, heating and power generation (CCHP) system to be integrated into a district heating and cooling system. The proposed system can generate 27295685 Nm3/year of producer gas, 14.57 GWh/year of electricity, 32.11 GWh/year of heat and 1.55 GWh/year of chilled water with a solar thermal energy input of 1.15 GWh/year. The capital cost of the CCHP system can be recovered in 9.62 years when solar collector are not used and in 6.19 years when solar collectors are used. By using RDF and solar thermal energy are saved 3567778 Nm3 of natural gas in a year.

According with the new European Regulations the supply chain sustainability became more and more challenging for the shipping companies. They must adapt their ships to respect the new regulations, but this means economic investment for environmental and social scopes? Or replacement of traditional fuel with a green one, will make the companies more competitive, will reduce costs and will improve the operational performance? It can be difficult for the top management to take and assume a decision like this. In this paper we will use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), like a management instrument, based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) to see what solution brings more advantages for the ship owners and for the community. An illustrative case with two alternative marine fuels, liquified natural gas (LNG) and oil gas, was presented and analyzed in this paper using the proposed method. The most sustainable scenario being the one in which is used natural liquefied gas like marine fuel. The results obtained demonstrate that the method used to prioritize alternative marine fuels is feasible and helps decision makers.

The objective of the present work is to analyse the expected dynamics of the wind energy in the Baltic Sea. From the 18 offshore wind farms currently operating there, 10 locations with higher installed capacity have been selected as reference. The wind data delivered by a Regional Climate Model (RCM) are processed and analysed considering the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5. The novelty of the proposed study consists in the fact that this is focused on the assessment of the expected average and extreme wind power, considering the 30-year time window 2021–2050. Furthermore, in order to make a comparison, an analysis of the historical wind data coming from the same RCM corresponding to the past 30-year period 1976–2005 is also carried out. The results indicate a slight enhancement of the wind power, which is higher for RCP4.5. Some locations where the wind power enhancement is expected to be more significant have been also identified. Finally, it can be noticed that while for the historical data the trend indicates a constant tendency, as regards the near future period (2021–2050) the trends show a tendency of enhancement of the wind power, which is higher for RCP 8.5.

The energy, economic and environmental analysis of a solar heating system with seasonal heat storage integrated into a district heating system based on natural gas boiler was performed. The solar collector field has a surface area of 8720 m2 and the pit seasonal heat storage has a volume of 10000 m3. This system covers 79% of the total yearly heat demand of the 15 multifamily buildings with 1500 inhabitants. The total system investment cost (2974100 €) may be recovered in about 17 years. The environmental impact of solar heating system integration is the decrease of CO2 emission by 79%.

Nowadays, studying climate change of the coastal zones is of utmost importance, due to the fact that global warming endangers in particular sea coast regions. As a matter of fact, the scientist and one of the founders of physical climatology, Budiko, in 1972, stated that first of all, due to the rising use of fossil fuels, a significant rise in the air temperature will occur, then extensive flooding of coastal areas will be caused by this appearance of climate change, ecomigration will follow, along with massive economical loss, generating a chain-reaction process. Taking the Black Sea into consideration, it is more than clear that pollution has reached record levels during the last decades. Hydrocarbons, which are naturally-occurring compounds that form the basis of coal, natural gas and crude oil, are responsible for more than 80% of energy consumption, but unfortunately, it is now common knowledge that using them as the primary source of energy, it contributes to increasing climate changes. Furthermore, marine accidents, such as collisions and explosions, contribute significantly to pollution, with consequences on coastal ecosystems and onshore human activities. This paper aims to lay emphasis on the impact that navigation, alongside with climate change has on the marine environment and analyse the available data regarding the marine accidents using satellite monitoring in order to control and prevent disasters that may occur while operating ships at sea.

Considering the trend to develop renewable projects in marine environment, the objective of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the wind and wave energy for some significant coastal sites from Latin America and Europe. Thus, a reanalysis database that covers 17 years of wind and wave data (2000–2016) is considered, evaluating also some statistical parameters. In this way, we identified the most interesting sites for a marine project. At the same time, the performance of five wind turbines (Senvion 6.2M 126, BARD 5.0, SWT–3.6 –120, Vestas V90–3.0 and Vestas V80–2.0) and five wave energy converters (Wave Dragon, PPC, Pelamis, Aqua Buoy, Seabased AB) is also assessed. The results show that in Latin America, the coastal region located close to Tierra del Fuego presents the best wind resources, indicating a maximum wind power value of 1759 W/m2 (at 80 m height). This is relatively similar to the conditions encountered at the Carloway site, in Europe close to Ireland (1778 W/m2). As regards wave power, a maximum value of 82.59 kW/m is assessed for the Carloway site. According to the total harmonic distortion index, the best sites to develop a joint wind-wave project are in Latin America, where for this index most of the values are below the 0.8 limit. Looking at the performances of wind and wave generators, we notice a maximum power output of 4.26 MW for the Senvion 6.2M 126 turbine, compared to an expected electric power of 2.64 MW, which results for the Wave Dragon energy converter. The results show that the capacity factors of the wave systems are significantly smaller than in case of the wind turbines.

Marine environment represents a very important and actual topic. Water bodies cover more than two thirds of the earth’s surface and even after thousands of years, scientists have yet to fully uncover their mysteries. At the same time climate, change has visible effects with a growing dynamics in the last decades and the marine environment is very sensitive to these changes. In order to mitigate the effects of the climate change there is an increasing need of reducing the CO2 emissions and from this perspective the marine environment represents an important source of clean renewable energy. In this respect, the Journal of Marine Science represented even from the beginning an open framework dedicated to the presentation of the discoveries and insights in marine science research.

Climate change has visible effects with growing dynamics in the last decades [...]

The present work aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the wind energy potential that characterizes the Romanian coastal environment using in situ measurements and reanalysis of wind data (ERA5) that cover a 42–year time interval (1979–2020). A total of 16 reference points (both land and offshore) equally distributed along the Romanian sector are used to evaluate the local wind energy potential, targeting in this way several sites where a renewable wind project could be established. Compared to the in situ measurements (land points), the ERA5 dataset underestimates the wind speed by at least 11.57%, this value increasing as we approach the coastline. From the analysis of the spatial maps, it is likely that the wind speed steadily increases from onshore to offshore, with a sharp variation near the coastline being reported. Furthermore, the assessment of some state-of-the-art offshore wind turbines was conducted using 12 systems defined by rated capacity ranging from 2 to 10 MW. Some scenarios were proposed to identify sustainable offshore wind projects to be implemented in the Romanian coastal zone based on these results.

The recent theory of the coastal risk index (C@R) represents a theory, whose approach is based on a series of indicators targeting natural and anthropic processes. These indicators aim to assess the risk of coastal areas exposed to natural hazards (sea level rise, storms, floods etc.). Also, the coastal risk index assesses the degradation of coastal resources and the factors that favor this phenomenon. The C@R index was developed with a special emphasis on coastal and environmental risks and is based on the World Risk Index concept [1].At the level of the Romanian coastal area, a master plan for protecting the coastal area has been adopted since 2011, a document that has generated several shore protection solutions. During 2014-2017, hard type protection works were carried out in the areas considered the most vulnerable in terms of coastal erosion [2]. The present paper aims to analyze the introduction of a modern risk assessment system by applying the C@R index, at the level of the Romanian coastal area. The purpose of this tool is to help and inform decision makers at all levels about the existing risks, so that they can find solutions to reduce these risks.

The objective of the present work is to evaluate the wind energy resources in the coastal environment of the Black Sea by providing a reliable projection for the next 30 years. The wind power is assessed for water depths in the range 25–125 m. The wind speeds considered are those provided by the Rossby Centre regional atmospheric model, version (RCA4) and predicted under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5 used in Climate Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). The time interval is 2021–2050, the wind speeds having a spatial resolution of 0.11°, with 6-h temporal resolution. An analysis of the historical data provided by these climatic wind models performed for the 30-year time interval 1976–2005 shows reliable results in the basin of the Black Sea. This gives a reasonable degree of confidence for the model results corresponding to the 30-year future time window considered, providing at the same time a mean of comparison with the future wind climate Although from the point of view of the wave energy, the Black Sea cannot be considered with high potential, especially when compared to the ocean coasts, as regards the wind power resources the potential of this coastal environment is in line with other coastal areas where such marine wind farms already successfully operate. Finally, it can be concluded that the present work provides a comprehensive and useful picture of the future wind energy resources in the coastal environment of the Black Sea as well as on the changes expected in the wind climate.

Most of the global trade is carried by sea as the Earth surface is covered more than ¾ with water. For commercial purposes, the size of ships has continuously increased; thus, the space for cargo and passengers became more generous. Though, this leads to higher risks: reduced maneuverability, especially in narrow or confined waters, more costly intervention in case of an accident and consistent relief actions. When naval accidents affect the property, human life and environment are severely affected. To reduce the risk of accidents or curb their effects when produced, all stakeholders involved in shipping must obey the provisions of international regulations related to the safety of ships operations, collision avoidance, pollution prevention, and so on. Along with enforcing international regulations in the field, effective management of intervention in the case of an accident has to be adopted. This paper presents the influence of environmental factors in the western Black Sea basin on naval accidents, along with considerations related to the system of intervention in the case of distress situations or accident in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea.

The objective of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the benefits coming from a wind and wave project that would operate near the largest and the most significant islands. According to the data processed in this study, the wind power has values in the range 47.1 W/m2 (Borneo) – 1430 W/m2 (Greenland), while for the wave power a minimum value of 2.28 kW/m is noticed close to Sulawesi, compared to a maximum of 68.8 kW/m encountered close to Tasmania. As a next step, the performances of several wind and wave generators were evaluated. Thus, a wind farm may reduce the emissions with a maximum 84% in the case of Madagascar, or 88% near Iceland, while from the wave converters, only the Wave Dragon may reduce about 8% in Ireland or, on the other hand 86% in Iceland. In the final part of the work, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) was also assessed. Thus, it was estimated that for some sites the wind systems already satisfy the EU target for the year 2025 of 0.11 USD/kWh, compared to the wave systems that still have a high electricity price being quite far from these targets.

The European offshore wind market is continuously expanding. This means that, together with significant technological developments, new coastal environments should be considered for the implementation of the wind farms, as is the case of the Black Sea, which is targeted in the present work. From this perspective, an overview of the wind energy potential in the Romanian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Black Sea is presented in this work. This is made by analyzing a total of 20 years of wind data (corresponding to the time interval 2000–2019) coming from different sources, which include ERA5 reanalysis data and satellite measurements. Furthermore, a direct comparison between these datasets was also carried out. Finally, the results of the present work indicate that the Romanian offshore areas can replicate the success reported by the onshore wind projects, of which we can mention the Fantanele-Cogealac wind farm with an operating capacity of 600 MW.

A particularity of island areas is that they are subjected to strong sea state conditions that can have a severe impact on the beach stability, while on the other hand, they rely mainly on diesel combustion for electricity production which in the long run is not a sustainable solution. The aim of this work is to tackle these two issues, by assessing the impact of a hybrid marine energy farm that may operate near the north-western part of Giglio Island in the Mediterranean Sea. As a first step, the most relevant environmental conditions (wind and waves) over a 27-year time interval (January 1992–December 2018) were identified considering data coming from both ERA5 and the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative for Sea State. An overview of the electricity production was made by considering some offshore wind turbines, the results showing that even during the summertime when there is a peak demand (but low wind resources), the demand can be fully covered by five wind turbines defined each by a rated power of 6 MW. The main objective of this work is to assess the coastal impact induced by a marine energy farm, and for this reason, various layouts obtained by varying the number of lines (one or two) and the distance between the devices were proposed. The modelling system considered has been already calibrated in the target area for this type of study while the selected device is defined by a relatively low absorption property. The dynamics of various wave parameters has been analysed, including significant wave height, but also parameters related to the breaking mechanics, and longshore currents. It was noticed that although the target area is naturally protected by the dominant waves that are coming from the south-western sector, it is possible to occur extreme waves coming from the north-west during the wintertime that can be efficiently attenuated by the presence of the marine energy farm.

The aim of the present work is to identify the expected nearshore and offshore impact of a marine energy farm that would be implemented in the coastal environment of Portugal. Several layouts of Wave Dragon devices were considered, the distance between each system being gradually adjusted. By processing 27–years of combined wave data coming from the European Space Agency and ERA5, the most relevant conditions have been identified. The centre of each farm layout was set to approximately 3.5 km from the coast, where a more significant attenuation of wave heights in the middle of the target area was noticed, which can go up to 16% in the case of extreme events. From the analysis of the longshore currents, it was noticed that even an arrow farm layout defined by five systems may have a significant impact, by changing the peak or by smoothing the currents profile. Wave energy is an emerging renewable sector that can also contribute tocoastal protection and, therefore, the Portuguese coast represents a suitable candidate for this type of project.

The present work is focused on the analysis of flood scenarios for the settlements near the Danube discharge area into the Black Sea. From this perspective, the aim of the research is the development of flood extension maps for localities in the Danube Delta. The emphasis is on collecting the data and information needed for the entire analysis process, such as hydrological data on Danube flows and water levels (which were analyzed for 51 years), topo-bathymetric data (where 1685 cross sections were processed, measured on an 87-km section of the Danube), a digital terrain model (DTM), and others. Two methods of flood scenario analysis for the localities targeted were used in this paper. The first method was an analysis of the flood scenarios by modeling a real scenario, where it was supposed that a 20 m breach appeared in the dam which protects the localities and remained present for 24 h. The second method consisted of a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis (static from a hydraulic point of view), where the maximum water level was superimposed over the DTM. This corresponded to a scenario in which the breach in the flood-control levee remains present for a longer period. The validated results show that the dynamic method is more efficient than the static method, both in terms of estimated flooded surfaces and in terms of simulation accuracy (taking into account more input parameters than the static method). Thus, from the obtained simulations it was observed that applying the dynamic method resulted in smaller flooded surfaces in the settlements analyzed than when considering the static method. In some cases, the differences between the flooded surfaces reached up to about 22%. This information is important and of general interest since it can be used in various fields of work, such as flood defense strategies, and investment promotion activities in the Danube discharge area or similar locations.

The present study describes the implementation of a food safety system in the dairy pilot plant &ldquo, Gourmeticus Academicum,&rdquo, a spin-off within the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj Napoca, Romania. In order to improve Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) the preliminary programs were integrated into the quality management system (QMS) by monitoring the biological hazards. The process provides future specialists with good practice hands-on and educational tools. This study focused on hazard analysis, the determination and establishment of prerequisite programs, and the role of critical control points (CCPs) based on HACCP and the challenges found during the process as a critical thinking model on education programs. The determination of the CCPs in the processing of yogurt was made by applying the decision tree method. Besides, biological hazards are included as a by-control of the system&rsquo, s implementation performance. For the successful implementation of HACCP principles, prerequisite programs (PRPs) and operational prerequisite programs (OPRPs) were initially implemented. This process could be challenging but feasible to be reached in small-scale food industries with remarkable results as educational tools.

The numerical simulation of biomass combustion requires a model that must contain, on one hand, sub-models for biomass conversion to primary products, which involves calculations for heat transfer, biomass decomposition rate, product fractions, chemical composition, and material properties, and on the other hand, sub-models for volatile products transport inside and outside of the biomass particle, their combustion, and the char reduction/oxidation. Creating such a complete mathematical model is particularly challenging, therefore, the present study proposes a versatile alternative&mdash, an originally formulated generalized 3D biomass decomposition model designed to be efficiently integrated with existing CFD technology. The biomass decomposition model provides the chemical composition and mixture fractions of volatile products and char at the cell level, while the heat transfer, species transport, and chemical reaction calculations are to be handled by the CFD software. The combustion model has two separate units: the static modeling that produces a macro function returning source/sink terms and local material properties, and the dynamic modeling that tightly couples the first unit output with the CFD environment independently of the initial biomass composition, using main component fractions as initial data. This article introduces the generalized 3D biomass decomposition model formulation and some aspects related to the CFD framework implementation, while the numerical modeling and testing shall be presented in a second article.

The main objective of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the wind conditions in the Spanish continental nearshore considering a state-of-the-art wind dataset. In order to do this, the ERA5 wind data, covering the 20-year time interval from 1999 to 2018, was processed and evaluated. ERA stands for ’ECMWF Re-Analysis’ and refers to a series of research projects at ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) which produced various datasets. In addition to the analysis of the wind resources (reported for a 100 m height), the performances of several wind turbines, ranging from 3 to 9.5 MW, were evaluated. From the analysis of the spatial maps it was observed that the Northern part of this region presents significant wind resources, the mean wind speed values exceeding 9 m/s in some locations. On the other hand, in regard to the Southern sector, more energetic conditions are visible close to the Strait of Gibraltar and to the Gulf of Lion. Nevertheless, from the analysis of the data corresponding to these two Southern nearshore points it was observed that the average wind speed was lower than 8 m/s in both summer and winter months. Regarding the considered wind turbines, the capacity factor did in general not exceed 20%—however, we did observe some peaks that could reach to 30%. Finally, it can be highlighted that the Northern part of the Spanish continental nearshore is significant from the perspective of extracting offshore wind energy, especially considering the technologies based on floating platforms. Furthermore, because of the clear synergy between wind and wave energy, which are characteristic to this coastal environment, an important conclusion of the present work is that the implementation of joint wind–wave projects might be effective in the Northwestern side of the Iberian nearshore.

Considering the current concerns regarding the level of air pollution from the Black Sea area, the aim of the present work is to establish whether a cold ironing project that involves the use of the wind resources from the port of Constanta (Romania) could become a reality. The regional and local wind resources measured at a height of 100 m above sea level were assessed by taking into account 20 years (2000&ndash, 2019) of ERA5 wind data. The wind speed significantly increases as we move towards the offshore areas, with the wind Class C7 reporting a maximum of 41%. By combining the annual electricity production with the emissions associated with the port activities, it was possible to show that at least 385 turbines (each rated at eight MW) will be required to cover the electricity demand for this port. The present study has found it difficult to implement such a project based only on the available wind resources and has identified that more likely a mixed project that involves some other resources will be more appropriate. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the future of the ship industry is becoming greener and definitely, a wind project located near Constanta harbour will represent a viable solution in this direction.

Growing energy demand is causing a significant decrease in the world&rsquo, s hydrocarbon stock in addition to the pollution of our ecosystem. Based on this observation, the search for alternative sorts of energy to fossil fuels is being increasingly explored and exploited. Wind energy is experiencing a very important development, and it offers a very profitable opportunity for exploitation since the wind is always available and inexhaustible. Several technical solutions exist to exploit wind energy, such as floating vertical axis wind turbines (F-VAWTs), which provide an attractive and cost-effective solution for exploiting higher resources of offshore wind in deep water areas. Recently, the use of the Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) offshore has attracted increased interest because it offers significant advantages over horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). In this context, this article presents a new concept of floating Darrieus-type straight-bladed turbine with three-stage rotors. A double-multiple stream tube (DMST) model is used for aerodynamic simulations to examine several critical parameters, including, solidity turbine, number of blades, rotor radius, aspect ratio, wind velocity, and rotor height. This study also allows to identify a low solidity turbine (&sigma, = 0.3), offering the best aerodynamic performance, while a two-bladed design is recommended. Moreover, the results also indicate the interest of a variable radius rotor, as well as the variation of the height as a function of the wind speed on the aerodynamic efficiency.

Applying a management model to coastal areas is always a challenge because of the multiple scenarios from which they can be addressed. The coastal zone represents a dynamic area, which can be analyzed using physical processes. However, it can also be analyzed from the perspective of land&ndash, sea interaction or the socioeconomic activities that take place in the area. Last but not least, the coastal area holds great significance for biodiversity, as well as for the communities that live there, their traditions and customs, and their cultural heritage, especially in the context of climate change and sea-level rise. In this context, the present paper aims to analyze the social and economic aspects of environmental protection issues and how these factors, identified by a series of indicators, can coexist together. The target area is Kinvara Bay, which is located south of the Atlantic&rsquo, s Galway Bay, in the western part of Ireland.

The objective of the proposed work is to assess the possible wind power dynamics along the European coastal environment in the context of the very predictable future development of the offshore wind energy extraction. From this perspective, 15 reference points have been selected in the Baltic, Mediterranean and Black seas, representing 5 representative locations for each sea, respectively. The proposed analysis is based on the wind fields provided by a Regional Climate Model (RCM) for the future time period 2021-2050. These data are processed and analysed considering the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5. In the first RCP scenario (4.5), an enhancement of the greenhouse gas emissions until 2040 is considered followed afterwards by a decline. On the other hand, the second scenario assumes that the greenhouse gas emissions enhancement will continue during the entire 21st century and after. The first scenario is considered as the most realistic approach, while the second as the most pessimistic. Furthermore, in order to complete the picture an analysis of the historical wind data coming from the same RCM for the past 30-year period 1976-2005 is also carried out. In this way, a more comprehensive image of the wind power dynamics in the some relevant locations from the European coastal environment is provided. In order to enlarge the perspective, the analysis of the historical data is also extended for some locations in the North Sea, where wind farms already operate. The results indicate a slight enhancement of the average wind power in most of the locations considered. This enhancement appears to be stronger for RCP8.5 than for RCP4.5. On the other hand, the maximum wind power is expected to have much higher peaks for RCP8.5 and this especially concerns the western side of the Black Sea. The work is still on going and the analysis will be extended in both space and time covering more coastal locations and the time period until the end of the 21 st century.

The problem of pollution is a topical issue at global, regional but also at the local level. Starting from this idea, the question arises whether the coastal region in the North-East of the Black Sea is affected by the emissions resulting from the combustion of marine fuels in large ship engines, which manage to set in motion floating buildings intended for the transport of goods and passengers. This paper wants to evaluate the variation of the air quality indicators in the coastal area of Romania, taking into account the contribution that the ships by their number, size and destination can have on these qualitative factors. Such an approach is needed from the perspective of the more than 500,000 inhabitants possibly affected by the effects with which this industry is accompanied. As the Black Sea active fleet is already old, as its ages year by year, the premises for the need for this study can be set up. As in other regions, drastic measures are taken in order to reduce the effects of pollution due to such economic activity, the assessment of the effects that this industry produces in inhabited areas becomes necessary. In order to carry out this study, air quality data from the database provided by the National Air Quality Monitoring Network of the Workshop on the calitateaer.ro site were evaluated.

The objective of the present work is to estimate the benefits which may be obtained from the implementation of a solar and wind project, by considering several reference sites, located in the southeastern part of Romania. In the first case study, the attractiveness of the solar energy will be evaluated for a production factory located in the vicinity of Galati city. The seasonal and annual fluctuation of solar energy will be discussed, by taking also into account the performances of a photovoltaic panel, which may be installed on the roof of these production halls. As for the second case study, the performances of some state-of-the-art wind turbines will be evaluated by taking into account three sites located along the Romanian shoreline, namely Sf. Gheorghe, Navodari and Vama Veche, respectively. According to these results, it was noticed that the photovoltaic panels will partially cover the energy demand for the selected factory, while in the case of wind energy, a single wind turbine defined by a rated capacity of 3 MW seems to easily cover the local electricity budget, reported in Sf. Gheorghe and Vama Veche.

Traditionally and socially, the tourism in Constanta is considered to be important to the local economy. Sun and beach locations are both a draw for locals and tourists to the city, on the Black Sea. However, vacation-oriented activities in the city only have a seasonal cycle. In this paper, we proposed to analyze the mass tourist activity in Constanta, taking into account economic, social, and environmental conditions. Additionally, we attempted to build a model based on the data available. The model was developed using a PESTEL analysis to determine the supportability factor of the indicators identified. We also set out to create a projection of the activities proposed for analysis by 2050. To create a model for coastal areas, the data used in this research must be accurate and consistent. Furthermore, correctly identifying indicators and their relationships is a critical step in conducting a thorough study. Last but not least, finding the calculation coefficient for the activity in question is critical, as collecting data from various activities might be challenging when trying to find a feasible model.

The world has a target of achieving 100% renewable energy by the end of the century. This paper presents a case study to establish a new floating photovoltaic park (FPV) in Egyptian dams. In Egypt, two hydroelectric dams, namely High Dam and Aswan Reservoir, together produce 2.65 GW in the Upper-Egypt region. The addition of 5 MW FPV for each dam is simulated using the Helioscope software application. A comparison between the performance of the dams with and without adding the FPV is presented in terms of the evaporation rate and total produced energy. A comparison between different types of FPV, namely polycrystalline, thin film and mono-crystalline in the two dams are also presented. The results show that installing FPV in the Egyptian dams will drive the dams to better performance in terms of carbon dioxide reduction, water-saving from reducing evaporation and increasing hydropower generation.

The higher requests concerning the large scale implementation of the renewable energy imposed by the EU directives implies a substantial enhancement of the renewable energy extraction all over Europe. Wind turbines entered in the last decades gradually in the common landscape and the success of the wind power industry renewed the interest in discovering what might work in the sea. On the other hand, it becomes quite obvious nowadays that wave power will play an important role in the global energy portfolio. Combined offshore wind-wave projects, also known as hybrids, hold great potential down the line when wave technologies will become more established. At that point, wave production might compensate for the intermittent offshore wind, while economies of scale developed from offshore wind could accelerate cost reduction for wave components. Despite a certain degree of uncertainty related to the variability in the wave-wind climate, improvements in the accuracy of evaluating the environmental data in coastal areas would also enhance the accuracy of the predictions that future energy convertors yield. Another important problem that arises together with the implementation of the energy farms in the coastal environment is related to the correct assessment of their impact on the littoral dynamics. From this perspective, the proposed work presents the main challenges related to the wave energy extraction in the nearshore. This includes also the identification of the best European locations from the point of view of the synergy between the wind and the wave power.

The objective of this work is to assess the synergy of the marine resources in the vicinity of several European offshore sites, in order to analyze the viability of the combined wind-wave renewable projects. The reference sites considered for evaluation are located in the vicinity of the European coasts, being already taken into account for various marine projects. As a first step, based on the dataset provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts for the 10-year interval 2005–2014, it was possible to analyze the joint seasonal distribution of the offshore resources. In the second part of the paper, based on the technical characteristics of various offshore wind turbines and wave energy converters, it was possible to identify the performances of some systems for wind and wave energy conversion. Finally, it can be also highlighted that the results presented in the present work can be considered interesting and useful, since they provide some insights regarding the potential of some operational European sites to support colocated wind-wave projects.

At this time, there are plans to develop offshore wind projects in the Caspian Sea. The aim of the present work was to estimate the possible benefits coming from such a project. As a first step, the wind profile of this region was established by considering reanalysis data coming from the ERA-Interim project, the time interval covered being between January 1999 and December 2018. According to these results, significant resources have been noticed in the northern part where the wind speed frequently reached 8 m/s, being identified also as a hot-spot south of Olya site. In the second part, the performances of some offshore wind turbines were established. These were defined by rated capacities ranging from 3 MW to 8.8 MW. The downtime period of some generators can reach 90% in the central and southern sectors, while for the capacity factor, the authors expected a maximum of 33.07% for a turbine rated at 4.2 MW. From a financial point of view, the values of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) indicated that the sites from the north and central parts of the Caspian Sea have been defined by an average LCOE of 0.25 USD/kWh. Thus, they can represent viable locations for wind farm projects.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management is a complex concept that involves various economic, social and environmental factors. There are often conflicting approaches to these factors. Furthermore, when it is decided to implement structural works in the coastal area, it must be taken into account the particularity of the area, the way in which it is developed and the type of work to be done. The Gulf of Mamaia in the Romanian Black Sea coast is the target of structural changes through the implementation of an extensive coastal rehabilitation program. The works made are of “hard” type and aim to change the shore line configuration. From this perspective, the target of the present paper is to make an analysis between the type of work that is being carried out and another kind of "soft" work aiming especially to favor the ecological reconstruction of the area and the approach of an environmentally friendly concept. Thus, we propose to analyze the two types of works with a view to apply the Bruun rule in order to mitigate the effect of the increase of the sea level and to prevent the shoreline retreat.

In the last years, the offshore wind sector has been constantly growing in Europe, coming also with a very competitive production price. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the wind power potential in the European coastal environment of the Mediterranean Sea, an area with a high population density. Furthermore, a high energy demand exists here and the potential of the renewable energy resources needs to be assessed for further exploitation. The analysis was performed considering some reference locations. The climate change impact on the wind energy resource is also investigated. Various comparisons between historical data and future climate projections simulated by a Regional Climate Model under RCP4.5 scenario are made. The results obtained show that in various locations, especially in Golf of Lion and the Aegean Sea, there are appropriate conditions for offshore wind exploitations.

This paper aims to examine the temporal variation of wave energy flux in the hotspot areas of the Black Sea. For this purpose, a 31-year long-term wave dataset produced by using a three-layered nested modelling system was used. Temporal variations of wave energy were determined at hourly, monthly, seasonal, and yearly basis at seventeen stations. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the stations have very low fluctuations in mean wave power during the day. Mean wave power in the summer months shows a low difference between the stations, but in the winter months, there is a higher difference in wave power between the stations. This difference is more at the stations in the southwestern part of the Black Sea and much lower in the eastern Black Sea stations around Sinop, being in the middle of the southern coast of the Black Sea. In addition, it is concluded that mean wave energy flux presents a decreasing trend at all stations, but maximum wave power offers an increasing trend at most of the stations. Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (PN-III-P4-IDPCE-2016-0017)

En otro archivo el Adendum publicado en Energies 13(7) : (2020) // Article ID 1665 Wave energy's path towards commercialization requires maximizing reliability, survivability, an improvement in energy harvested from the wave and efficiency of the wave to wire conversion. In this sense, control strategies directly impact the survivability and safe operation of the device, as well as the ability to harness the energy from the wave. For example, tuning the device's natural frequency to the incoming wave allows resonance mode operation and amplifies the velocity, which has a quadratic proportionality to the extracted energy. In this article, a review of the main control strategies applied in wave energy conversion is presented along their corresponding power take-off (PTO) systems. This work was supported in part by the Basque Government through project IT1207-19 and by the MCIU through the Research Project RTI2018-094902-B-C22 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE).

There is an increasing necessity in reducing CO2 emissions and implementing clean energy technologies, and over the years the marine environment has shown a huge potential in terms of renewable energy. From this perspective, extracting marine renewable energy represents one of the most important technological challenges of the 21st century. In this context, the objective of the present work is to provide a new and comprehensive understanding concerning the global wave energy resources based on the most recent results coming from two different databases, ERA5 and the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative for Sea State. In this study, an analysis was first made based only on the ERA5 data and concerns the 30-year period of 1989–2018. The mean wave power, defined as the energy flux per unit of wave-crest length, was evaluated at this step. Besides the spatial distribution of this parameter, its seasonal, inter, and mean annual variability was also assessed on a global scale. As a second step, the mean wave energy density per unit horizontal area was analyzed for a 27-year period (1992–2018) with both ERA5 and the satellite data from the European Space Agency being considered. The comparison indicates a relatively good concordance between the results provided by the two databases in terms of mean wave energy density, although the satellite data indicate slightly higher energy values.

The main objective of the present work is to assess the wind energy resources in the Black and in the Caspian seas. Additionally, the electric power expected to be provided by various state of the art technologies was also evaluated. For this reason, several reference points were considered in the coastal environments of the two areas targeted. In order to assess the wind potential in these locations, 12 year of data coming from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction were processed and analyzed. From the analysis of the wind power density (corresponding to a height of 80 m), it was possible to evaluate the spatial and seasonal distributions of the wind resources, and also to identify some hot spot areas. Since the regions located near the shoreline are under the influence of the diurnal/nocturnal fluctuations, a special attention was paid to this aspect. This is especially due to the fact that the power output of a wind farm project is supposed to be significantly influenced by such variations. In the second part of the work, several offshore wind turbines were considered and their performances were evaluated in relationship with the local wind patterns. Based on these results, we can conclude that important variations may occur between the diurnal and the nocturnal intervals, in terms of both wind velocity and direction, while on a regional scale the northern parts of the Black and the Caspian seas seem to present more consistent wind energy potential. Moreover, this potential is comparable with that from the locations where such offshore wind farms already successfully operate.

The objective of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture concerning the expected efficiency and coastal impact that would result from the implementation of a hybrid wind-wave project in the northern part of the Portuguese nearshore. As regards the wind, the data considered are from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast and covers the 20-year interval 1995–2014. For the wave conditions, data provided by in situ buoy measurements corresponding to the 15-year time interval (1994–2010) have been processed and analyzed. As a first step, the potential of the wind and wave resources was assessed in terms of their seasonal variations. This was further completed with results concerning the expected power output and the efficiency of some state of the art wind and wave converters. The second part of the proposed work is focused on an evaluation of the down-wave effect induced by a hybrid wind-wave farm. Following the results of the present work, it can be noticed that the wave farm can assure a beneficial sheltering effect to the wind farm fact that should lead to an increase of efficiency of the wind energy extraction.

The objective of the present study is to show a comprehensive assessment of the wind resource dynamics along the Spanish coastal environment of the Iberian Peninsula. After studying the historical resources (reported at 100 m height) for the 20-year period from 1999 to 2018 by analyzing the ERA5 time series of wind speed data, the 10 locations with highest historical wind resources are considered. For these, the study of the future dynamics for the 30-year period from 2021 to 2050 under the climate change scenario RCP 4.5 is carried out. After further selection, mean and maximum values, as well as the seasonal and monthly variability of the wind power density, are obtained for six locations along the Spanish coasts. Furthermore, a performance and economic dynamics assessment is presented for four different wind turbine technologies with rated capacities ranging between 3 and 9.5 MW. A further comparison with other locations in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea is presented to provide a critical image of the Spanish wind resources dynamics in the European framework. The results indicate a noticeable gain of wind resources in various locations of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, with others presenting slight losses.

Energy originating in tidal and ocean currents appears to be more intense and predictable than other renewables. In this area of research, the Tidal Stream Generator (TSG) power plant is one of the most recent forms of renewable energy to be developed. The main feature of this energy converter is related to the input resource which is the tidal current speed. Since its behaviour is variable and with disturbances, these systems must be able to maintain performance despite the input variations. This article deals with the design and control of a tidal stream converter system. The Fuzzy Gain Scheduling (FGS) technique is used to control the blade pitch angle of the turbine, in order to protect the plant in the case of a strong tidal range. Rotational speed control is investigated by means of the back-to-back power converters. The optimal speed is provided using the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategy to harness maximum power from the tidal speed. To verify the robustness of the developed methods, two scenarios of a disturbed tidal resource with regular and irregular conditions are considered. The performed results prove the output power optimization and adaptive change of the pitch angle control to maintain the plant within the tolerable limits. This work was supported by the MINECO through the Research Project DPI2015-70075-R (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and in part by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) through PPG17/33. The authors would like to thank the collaboration of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) through Agreement UPV/EHUEVE23/6/2011, the Spanish National Fusion Laboratory (EURATOM-CIEMAT) through Agreement UPV/EHUCIEMAT08/190 and EUSKAMPUS - Campus of international Excellence.