Nowadays, numerous governments have instituted diverse regulatory frameworks aimed at fostering the assimilation of sustainable energy sources characterized by reduced environmental footprints. Solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean energies were subject to extensive scrutiny, owing to their ecological merits. However, these sources exhibit pronounced temporal fluctuations. Notably, ocean dynamics offer vast energy reservoirs, with oceanic waves containing significant amounts of energy. In the Central American Pacific context, the exploration of wave energy resources is currently underway. Accurate numerical wave models are required for applied studies such as those focused on the estimation of exploitable wave power; and even more so in Central American region of the Pacific Ocean where existing numerical models simulations have so far relied on coarse resolution and limited validation field data. This work presents a high-resolution unstructured wave hindcast over the Central American Pacific region, implemented using the third-generation spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III over the period between 1979 and 2021. The results of the significant wave height have been bias-corrected on the basis of satellite information spanning 2005 to 2015, and further validation was performed using wave buoy and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) records located in the nearshore region of the Central America Pacific coast. After correction and validation of the wave hindcast, we employed the dataset for the evaluation and assessment of wave energy and its possible exploitation using different wave energy converters (WECs). This evaluation addressed the need to diverse the energy portfolio within the exclusive economic zones of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador in a sustainable manner. Moreover, a comprehensive analysis was carried out on the advantages of harnessing wave energy, juxtaposed with the imperative of regulatory frameworks and the current dearth of economic and environmental guidelines requisite for development within the region.

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A series of short and mid-term guidelines have been established due to the pursuit to offer clean energy and reduce the environmental impact in the Mediterranean and European environment. Currently, the scientific community and the industrial sector promote to find new technologies and means to achieve these regulations. Efforts to provide sustainable ways to supply electricity in Italy have led to the exploration of marine renewable energies (MRE) in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, in the Ligurian Sea, where the wave climate can provide one of the higher energy sources, represents an optimal opportunity for supplying this energy resource to coastal cities. However, the wave conditions are not as significant as those in other marine regions around the world. There are several devices currently developed which can be applicable to the region. Hence, an evaluation from a technical and economic perspective is advised. Additionally we also investigate the scaling and survival considerations for Wave Energy Converters (WECs) when facing extreme storm events. The proposed study offers the evaluation of a sustainable alternative for powering the electricity mix in the Liguria region, through the exploitation of the wave energy resource. Attractive findings emerge after the assessment of eight floating-body wave energy converters.@en

Clean energies are being incorporated into the energy mix in numerous countries. Through a spatial survey of maritime trade, restricted military maritime areas, marine planning, and the presence of fauna and flora along the Ligurian Sea, locations for possible investments in wave energy harvesting were identified in the Northern Thyrrenian Sea, along the Ligurian coast. Previous studies in this region have demonstrated, at a lower spatial resolution, the wave energy potential that can be captured and its variation over time. However, the optimization of wave energy exploitation under the criteria of the functionality and safety of converter devices has not yet been evaluated in the Ligurian Sea. The purpose of this study is to identify the optimal wave energy converter from an economic and technical perspective at several selected locations in the Ligurian Sea. This study involves the scaling of the employed power matrices to obtain the optimized capacity factors of wave energy converters.@en