WAVE ENERGY POTENTIAL IN THE NORTH-WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA DEEP WATERS AND NEARSHORE AREAS

An estimation of the wave power availability has been carried out in the offshore of the North- Western Mediterranean Sea and in two nearshore areas. The two nearshore areas are located in front of the coasts between La Spezia and Piombino (Tuscany) and between Stintino and Alghero (Sardinia). The offshore wave energy potential analyses are based on wave data arising from the numerical model PREVIMER MENOR-2MIN, developed by IFREMER. In order to quantify the processes affecting the waves as they propagate towards the nearshore and then to highlight the most energetic locations, numerical simulations have been adopted. These numerical simulations have been carried out by the MIKE 21 - Spectral Wave model, developed by DHI. The deep waters values of the wave heights, energetic periods, average directions and spreading factors, extracted from the PREVIMER MENOR- 2MIN model have been used as offshore boundary conditions for the nearshore modeling.