Abstract
As summarized in the Deliverable 2.1 (Vinagre et al., 2019)1, the Work Package 2 of the WESE project aims to collect, process, analyse and share the environmental data in three areas affected by different types of wave energy projects, i.e.: (1) oscillating water column device deployed offshore – MARMOK-A-5 developed by IDOM – in the Biscay Marine Energy Platform test site (BiMEP) located in Armintza (Spain); (2) oscillating wave surge converter deployed nearshore – WaveRoller developed by AWEnergy – in Peniche (Portugal); and (3) water turbine converter deployed onshore – Mutriku Wave Power Plant – in Mutriku (Spain). The Deliverable 2.1 represented the first phase for the fulfilment of the objectives above, which is the planification of the monitoring plans for noise, electromagnetic fields (EMF) and seafloor integrity for the projects mentioned. The Deliverables 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 are focused on the results obtained from the monitoring plans executed for EMF, noise, and seafloor integrity, respectively.
This deliverable D2.2 reports the main findings from the electromagnetic fields (EMF) surveys. For the MARMOK-A-5 device installed at BiMEP, a campaign was performed by MAPPEM Geophysics during the 20th and 21st of May 2019. Overall, no EMF signal could be identified as being originated from the cable. The sea conditions were very calm during the survey, and reports from the WEC operation show the power output from the device was small (our estimates account for less than 6kW), with the low emissions possibly being masked by ambient EMF noise (e.g. swell, vessel generator). For the WaveRoller device installed in Peniche, a sequence of events (sensor calibration, Covid19 restrictions and WaveRoller operational status), did not allow for the survey to be conducted at the time of writing this report. Considering that the WaveRoller returns to operation within the timeline of this project, the survey will be conducted, and this report will be updated accordingly.