Wave energy in Brittany (France)—resource assessment and WEC performances

Refined numerical wave energy resource assessments are required to reduce uncertainties in the evaluation of available power and energy production. However, to restrict the computational cost, a great part of wave hindcast simulations cover a limited time range (below ten years) or rely on coarse spatial resolutions while routinely ignoring tide-induced modulations in wave conditions. Complementing resource assessments conducted in the North-West European shelf seas, we here exploited a 27-year hindcast database (1994–2020) set up at a spatial resolution of 200 m along the coast of France and integrating the effects of tidal currents on waves. This evaluation was conducted in three water depths from offshore to nearshore (60, 40 and 20 m) around Brittany, one of the most energetic regions along the coast of France. We investigated the performances of a series of thirteen state-of-the-art wave energy converters with respect to installation depth range. Beyond confirming the interest of western Brittany in energy exploitation, the results exhibited the first ranking between devices, thus promoting the interests of Oceantec in offshore waters (60 m), Wave Dragon in intermediate waters (40 m), and Oyster and WaveStar C6 in shallow waters (20 m).