Wave Energy Potential Analysis in the Casablanca-Mohammedia Coastal Area (Morocco)

Abstract

In the last two decades, the exploitation of marine renewable energies (70% of the globe is made up of oceans), especially wave energy, has attracted great interest, not only for their high potential, but also for their high energy density. The development of wave energy is suitable for countries or regions with extensive coastline and high waves approaching the shore. This paper focuses on the study of wave potential and wave energy distribution in the Casablanca-Mohammedia nearshore area (Moroccan Atlantic coast) in order to identify prospective wave energy hotspots. To achieve this purpose, the offshore wave potential was firstly estimated from a 20 years wave data provided by ECMWF (European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasts). In the second step, a numerical modeling of the wave propagation in the study area was performed using the SWAN model jointly with WAVEWATCHIII. The performance of the model to simulate accurately the wave field was evaluated in a real situation characterized by large waves. The model then was applied to determine the patterns of wave field in the Casablanca-Mohammedia nearshore area for a typical wave conditions (winter, summer and storm). The results of this study show the abundance of wave energy in the region with an average annual wave potential of about 22 kW/m. A seasonal variability of the wave resource was demonstrated, with values five times higher in winter than in summer. In addition, a major hotspot site was identified that should be considered when studying WEC implementation. This hotspot is located at the southern edge of the Casablanca-Mohammedia coast, near the coastal area of Sidi Rahal.

Keywords

Wave energy / Numerical wave modeling / SWAN model / WAVEWATCHIII model / Casablanca-Mohammedia coast (Morocco)