The SafeWAVE Project

MRE Project Site

Title: The SafeWAVE Project

Status:

Operation Ended

Project Manager:

AZTI, Centro Tecnológico Naval y del Mar, Fondation OPEN-C, Hidromod, RTSYS, University College Cork, WavEC Offshore Renewables

Tech Developer:

Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), CorPower Ocean, GEPS Techno, Wello Oy

Start Date:

October 31, 2020

Info Last Updated:

June 17, 2025

Contact:

Juan Bald
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Website:

External Link

Details

Device Name:

CorPower Ocean HiWave, GepsTechno WAVEGEM, Wello Penguin

Technology:

Marine Energy, Wave

Technology Subtype:

Floating, Shore-Based

Support Structure:

Mooring Lines, Gravity Anchor

Project Scale:

Single Device

Grid Connection:

Grid-Connected, Non Grid-Connected

Installed Capacity:

150 - 300 kW

Electrical Infrastructure:

Unburied Seafloor Cables, Cables in the Water Column

Physical Site:

Open Coast, Isolated/Quiet Environment (<80 dB), Soft-Bottom Habitat, Hard-Bottom Habitat

Water Depth:

32 - 90m

Description

The nascent status of the Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) sector and Wave Energy (WE) in particular, yields many unknowns about its potential environmental pressures and impacts, some of them still far from being completely understood. The operation of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in the marine environment is still perceived by regulators and stakeholders as a risky activity, particularly for some groups of species and habitats. This often also has an impact on an already complex licensing process. The complexity of MRE licensing processes is also indicated as one of the main barriers to the sector’s development. The lack of clarity of procedures (arising from the lack of specific laws for these types of projects), the varied number of authorities to be consulted and the early stage of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) implementation are examples of the issues identified as resulting in a delay to the permitting of projects. There is also a need to provide more information on the sector not only to regulators, developers, and other stakeholders but also to the public. Only with an informed society will it be possible to carry out fruitful public debates on MRE implementation at the local level. These non-technological barriers that could hinder the future development of wave energy (WE) in EU, were addressed by the WESE project funded by EMFF in 2018. The present project builds on the results of the WESE project and aims to move forward through the following specific objectives:

Development of an Environmental Research Demonstration Strategy based on the collection, processing, modelling, analysis and sharing of environmental data collected in WE sites from different European countries where WECs are currently (Mutriku Power Plant and Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in Spain, Aguçadoura in Portugal and SEMREV in France); the SafeWAVE project aims to enhance the understanding of the negative, positive and negligible effects of WE projects. The SafeWAVE project will continue previous work, carried out under the WESE project, to increase the knowledge on priority research areas, enlarging the analysis to other types of sites, technologies and countries. This will increase information robustness to better inform decision-makers and managers on real environmental risks, broad the engagement with relevant stakeholders, related sectors and the public at large and reduce environmental uncertainties in consenting of WE deployments across Europe;
Development of a Consenting and Planning Strategy through providing guidance to ocean energy developers and to public authorities tasked with consenting and licensing of WE projects in France and Ireland; this strategy will build on country-specific licensing guidance and on the application of the MSP decision support tools (i.e. WEC-ERA by Galparsoro et al., 20212 and VAPEM tools) developed for Spain and Portugal in the framework of the WESE project; the results will complete guidance to ocean energy developers and public authorities for most of the EU countries in the Atlantic Arch.
Development of a Public Education and Engagement Strategy to work collaboratively with coastal communities in France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, to co-develop and demonstrate a framework for education and public engagement (EPE) of MRE enhancing ocean literacy and improving the quality of public debates.

The SafeWAVE Consortium, led by AZTI, includes a multidisciplinary team of partners bringing together technology device developers (BiMEP, Wello, CorPower Ocean, and GEPS Techno), consultants and researchers (AZTI, Asociación Centro Tecnológico Naval y del Mar (CTN), Ecole Centrale de Nantes (ECN), RTSYS, University College Cork (UCC), WavEC Offshore Renewables) and data managers (Hidromod), aiming to involve the wider community of ocean energy key stakeholders from across Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland.

Location

Deployment sites for each device:

Wello-Penguin at BiMEP off the coast of Armintza, in the Basque Country, northern Spain
GepsTechno WAVEGEM at the SEMREV Sea Test Site in Pays de la Loire, France
CorPower Ocean HiWave-5 Project in Aguçadoura, Portugal
Mutriku Wave Power Plant in Bay of Biscay, Spain

Project Progress

Started: October 2020
Concluded: December 2024

WP1 Project Management (Lead Partner: AZTI)
The objectives of WP1 are to ensure: (i) the coordination among the partners (ii) the project is completed on time; (iii) the project aims are achieved; (iv) deliverables and milestones are delivered in due time; (vi) the project is managed according to budget planning; (vii) excellence and equality are maintained throughout the duration of the project; (viii) fluent communication with the European Commission and the project officer; (ix) stakeholders, including the European Commission, are informed fully about the progress of the project, its outcomes and impacts.

WP2 Environmental Monitoring (Lead Partner: WavEC)
This work package gives continuity to the work performed under project WESE (EASME/EMFF/2017/1.2.1.1) broadening environmental monitoring and assessment to other types of devices and sites, enhancing and consolidating knowledge on WE effects.

Knowledge consolidation on WE effects as well as monitoring needs and planning standardisation are important aspects for streamlining environmental impacts assessment and licensing. Therefore, the main goal of this work package was collect, process, analyse and share environmental data collected in sites where devices were operating in Spanish, Portuguese and French coastal waters, representing different types of technology, different types of locations, i.e. onshore, nearshore and offshore and different type of project scales – single devices versus arrays of devices.

Four different types of technology were assessed:

Penguin (WELLO) installed in the BiMEP in Spain;
WAVEGEM (GepsTechno) in SEMREV, in France;
HiWave (CorPower Ocean) technology installed in Aguçadoura, in Portugal;
Mutriku Wave Power Plant in operation in Spain.

This project focused on four of the priority areas of research identified in the State of Science Report: environmental effects of marine renewable energy development around the world:

Electromagnetic Fields (EMF);
Acoustics (noise);
Seabed integrity;
Monitoring of fish communities.

WP3 Environmental Modelling (Lead Partner: CTN)
The aim of this WP was to develop strategic research to address gaps in knowledge to improve modelling of potential cumulative pressures and environmental impacts of future WE deployments at larger scale and to develop mitigation measures.

This objective built on the results obtained in WP2 and was used as a transfer value when analysing the potential environmental impacts in new deployment sites. Data obtained during fieldwork (WP2) were the base for the development of models that could be implemented in future deployments for the most critical environmental components: EMF, sound propagation and energy removal over marine dynamics.

This strategic research was based in a case study approximation. To do this, modelization was undertaken taking into account BIMEP, Aguaçadoura, SEMREVand Mutriku case studies. This WP built on the models developed in the framework of the WESE project with the added value of including new and different technologies of WE devices to those already studied in WESE project and consequently increased the sources of data available.

In this task the role of the industrial partners (Wello, GEPS Techno and CorPower) was a key element as they provided data on the behaviour of their devices (without revealing any industrial secret) during the monitoring undertaken in WP2 that was correlated with the environmental data obtained and thus the basis for the modelization of future arrays and their cumulative impacts.
The developed models were used to study the best mitigation measures in terms of the characteristics of the array (number of devices, location, etc.) for the key environmental factors to be studied.

WP4 Data Sharing Platform (Lead Partner: Hidromod)
This Work Package aims to improve MARENDATA Data Platform (http://www.marendata.eu/) that serve data providers, developers and regulators, including the partners of the project.
The objectives of this WP were to:

Test the use of the Platform with new sets of data;
Develop and test uses cases, particularly those that inform the regulatory process of ocean energy devices;
Address scalability issues of the Platform;
Guarantee survivability of the Platform after project end;
Ultimately, the Data Platform aims to inform the consenting of ocean energy devices’ deployments.

WP5 Risk and Adaptive Based Consenting (Lead Partner: UCC)
The aim of this work package was to provide guidance to ocean energy developers and to public authorities tasked with consenting and licensing of WECs in France and Ireland. It should be noted this WP built on work from previous projects and contributing to a complete set of guidelines for ocean energy developers and public authorities in the EU countries located in the Atlantic Arch.

WP6 Development Site Selection under MSP Framework (Lead Partner: AZTI)
The main objective of this WP was to identify the most suitable areas for the development and deployment of MRE in the French and Irish Atlantic area under comprehensive sitting criteria and the framework of the Maritime Spatial Plans that are being implemented by their respective national competent authorities.

On one hand, the potential conflicts between existing maritime activities and MRE, but also the potential environmental implications of MRE were considered. The assessment of the implications of MRE development should be used to inform and guide the management strategies and the legislation and policies supporting management actions. Thus, the MRE development suitability maps that were produced could be used to inform and support the efficient planning of future WE deployments.

The MRE development sitting criteria considered critical technical, environmental and social factors, and relies on the knowledge acquired in previous WPs. For that purpose, a model was generated under ecological risk assessment approach, which also considers the potential wave energy resource, operational risks, MRE and other maritime activities conflict risks and social risks. The model structure and the outcomes of its implementation were presented and validated by stakeholders. Stakeholders’ feedback was considered in the adaptation of the model and suitability maps reliability improvement. Finally, the model was used for the generation of MRE development suitability maps for the French and Irish Atlantic area.

Afterwards, the model was implemented into an open access web-based Decision Support Tool (DST). DSTs are software-based intermediaries that can be used as an interface between a complex model and a non-expert user. The tool was designed to lead users, including managers, but also, scientists, industry, and NGOs, among others, through clear steps and provide support in evidence-based decision-making process. Thus, contributes to support a more systematic and objective decision making. As the DST was based on an integrative risk assessment approach, it will also contribute to ecosystem-based MSP.

WP7: Education and Public Engagement (Lead Partner: UCC)
SafeWAVE was very aware of the importance of good relationships with local communities and the need to develop good two-way communication with stakeholders to facilitate the successful scaling of ocean energy device deployments. SafeWAVE worked collaboratively with coastal communities in France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, to co-develop and demonstrate a framework for education and public engagement (EPE), specifically aimed at ocean literacy. This EPE framework aimed to go beyond social acceptance, which is often equated to acquiescence to a fait accompli, and was designed to contribute to development of projects which exhibit inherent social acceptability.

WP8 Communication and Dissemination (Lead Partner: WavEC)
The main objectives of WP8 were:

To disseminate the project objectives, deliverables and outcomes to the offshore renewable energy community and other interested parties;
To ensure that the impact of the project among the offshore renewable community is maximised;
To implement a project dissemination strategy based on targeted communication that is tailored for the needs of individual partners in their respective countries and which uses appropriate media and communication tools.

Key Environmental Issues

The project included a work project focused priority areas of research identified in the State of the Science Report: electromagnetic fields (EMF); acoustics (noise); seabed integrity and monitoring of fish communities.

Phase	Stressor & Receptor	Design and Methods	Results
Baseline , Construction	Noise Marine Mammals	BiMEP: Acoustic monitoring One hydrophone was set up to register 10 minutes each hour with a sampling frequency of 288 kHz from the 16/06/2021 until 10/08/2021.	Completed N/A
Baseline	Noise Marine Mammals	Aguçadoura: Acoustic monitoring Deployed (up to) three hydrophones close to the WEC and register 10 minutes every hour with a sampling frequency of 576 kHz in two campaigns (January and May 2022).	Completed Overall SPL values were around 95 dB re 1 μPa and 85-105 db during the first and second campaign respectively, with a spectrum quite constant in frequency.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Displacement, Habitat Change Fish	BIMEP: Monitoring of fish communities The removal of the Wello Penguin WEC-2 from the BiMEP area was initially a setback for the team. As a mitigation strategy, the project team decided to conduct monitoring around Tecnalia's HarshLab floating laboratory device. Although the floating lab is not a WEC, it is very similar and can be used as a good model for the potential reef effect due to the presence of structures on the water surface. In general, the placement of any artifact in the sea can have an attracting effect on fish communities, especially if it is floating. The aim of the project was to monitor this possible effect thanks to the deployment of the ITSASDRONE device equipped with a Simrad EK80 programmable stand-alone split-beam acoustic echosounder. A first monitoring survey took place on 30th of August 2022 and a second one on 30 September 2024. Several transects were established relative to three predefined waypoints: (i) 4 transects around the HarshLab device; (ii) 2 transects around a point located in the third berth position of BiMEP and (iii) Control site, far enough from HarshLab device. Also a Simrad WBAT or Wideband Autonomous Transceiver was installed in Harshlab in with a 120 kHz transducer was mounted on a steel frame of 125 cm long and 37 cm wide, with a total weight of 52 kg. The configuration for the fish monitoring mission was set to record 5 pings per minute at a rate of 1 ping per second from May 2 to July 2, 2023. The pulse duration was set to 512 µs and the range was set to 100 m.	Completed In general, the observations made using different instruments indicate that there is no significant alteration in the distribution of fish abundances under different levels or radii of influence of the HarshLab floating platform. The combined use of these various instruments has been particularly important, allowing us to focus the study on different factors, including diurnal and seasonal variations at the same sampling point, as well as spatial variations at different distances from the HarshLab. Considering that the measurements were taken on a rather small time frame, it is highly likely that the observed variations are due to other factors. Changes in meteorological conditions prior to the measurements, the presence of fishing activity more or less close to the area, or even an increase in small pelagic predators in the area could have had a relevant effect on the results of this study. Consequently, these results are considered as baseline information being therefore necessary to increase the study effort by extending the time frame in order to obtain more conclusive results of the potential WEC effect on local fish communities.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Noise Marine Mammals	BiMEP: Acoustic monitoring Three hydrophones were deployed in the area and were set up to register 10 minutes each hour with a sampling frequency of 288 kHz from 11 November 2021 to 27 January 2022.	Completed For the BiMEP test site (Spain), two monitoring campaigns were undertaken: pre/installation and post-installation (of the PENGUIN II WEC). For the first one, an increase of more than 15 dB re 1 μPa is found for high wave heights after the deployment of the mooring lines of the WEC, with increases of up to 20 dB re 1 μPa during the installation period. The higher differences in SPL between the background noise levels are found in the lower frequencies. The results from the post-installation campaign data indicate that there exists some contribution from the device to the background noise levels, especially in the lower frequencies. These occur when comparing the On and Off states SPL distributions with respect to those of the Uninstalled periods (in fact, the comparison between On-Off SPL show no significant differences). These differences can be up (in median value) to 28 dB re 1 μPa for the lowest frequencies (decreasing approximately linearly with frequency). In addition, during the decommissioning of the device, noise levels were the highest found in the campaign, with values over 120 dB re 1 μPa (centred around 300 Hz). It is worth noting that mooring lines were also detectable above background noise for rough sea states around the 3 and 4 kHz bands.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Noise Marine Mammals	BiMEP: Airborne acoustic monitoring An acquisition system developed by CTN was deployed inside the WEC (see Figure 3), and continuously monitored the noise inside the device during the operational phase, recording audio for 10 minutes every hour.	Completed N/A
Post-Installation Monitoring	Noise Marine Mammals	Mutriku: Acoustic monitoring Carried out from 16 March to 26 April 2022, in which three hydrophones were deployed and acquired data for 10 minutes each hour with a sampling frequency of 288 kHz.	Completed Being Mutriku a busy coastal site, there is a clear difference between day and night distributions of SPL, with higher values during the day for frequencies below 1 kHz, and lower values during the day for frequencies above 1 kHz; the deviation is very low above this frequency for all cases. SPL values range between 77 and 105 dB re 1 μPa for the greatest and lowest wave heights, respectively. There are no apparent signs of noise coming from the Mutriku power plant, as indicated by the difference between day and night levels, as well as the causality analysis between SPL, significant wave height and average RPM time series. This is consistent with two facts: noise generated by Mutriku power plant turbines is centred in the lower spectrum (2000 RPM is equivalent to approximately 33 Hz), and the very shallow waters of the area lead to a low-frequency filter of considerable value (of the order of 100 Hz).
Post-Installation Monitoring	Noise Marine Mammals	SEMREV: Acoustic monitoring Carried out from 9th of July to 20th of August, in which three hydrophones were deployed around the device and acquired data regularly for 10 minutes each hour with a sampling frequency of 288 kHz, in this case solely during its operational phase, between 9 July and 20 August 2021.	Completed In the SEM-REV test site (France), one monitoring acoustic campaign was undertaken during July-August 2021. The analysis indicates no significant contribution of the WEC to the ambient noise (WAVEGEM by GEPS Techno), although it must be noted that the study was limited by the scarcity of operational data of the WEC device. Additionally, as in the BiMEP test site, mooring lines could be detected above background noise as a peak centred in 4 kHz that increases with wave height. Finally, the highest values in SPL are localized in a narrow band centred in 30 Hz, with values reaching almost 120 dB re 1 μPa. This narrow peak could be caused by the WEC, when forced by strong waves, but without more operating data or a baseline campaign this remains a hypothesis.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Noise Marine Mammals	SEMREV: Airborne acoustic monitoring Carried out to strengthen the acoustic analysis of the underwater campaign. It recorded data from 12th of August onwards. A similar acquisition system as the one used for the BiMEP test site was employed in this case, and was placed inside the WAVEGEM device.	Completed N/A
Post-Installation Monitoring	EMF Fish, Invertebrates	SEMREV: EMF monitoring Conducted using a COMET-300 AUV towing the Bartington GRAD-13 field sensor The EMF survey was carried out in two days in May 2022. 8 350m monitoring transects conducted at 3m above seafloor.	Completed The overall EMF measured (including the geomagnetic and the cable contribution) across the eight transects returned a magnitude of the magnetic field close to the geomagnetic field – equal to 47.5 μT (Vinagre et al., 2021) and 45,4 5 μT (Reynaud et al, 2021). After the geomagnetic field was subtracted to the total EMF by Sonarwiz, the EMF being generated in the umbilical cable were in the order of nT.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment	SEMREV: Seabed integrity monitoring SSS and ROV surveys were carried out at SEM-REV test site, around the mooring lines of WAVEGEM The first survey (operational phase) was carried out on the 2nd of July 2021. Two ROVs were used: a Revolution ROV (by Deep Trekker; see description in Vinagre et al., 2021) inspected the mooring line corresponding to the Anchor 1 (southeast) before it faced engine problems; a M2 ROV (by Chasing) inspected the mooring line corresponding to Anchor 4 (northwest). This later ROV rates a maximum of 100 m water depth, is equipped with a 4K camera. Unfortunately, the visibility was poor during the survey and the videos recorded did not provide much information. The second survey was undertaken on the 22nd of May 2022, once the device and the moorings (except the anchors and bottom chains) were removed, using a Revolution ROV. Again, the visibility was poor due to the presence of suspended material. Therefore, only Anchor 1 was inspected. Regarding the SSS survey, one campaign was carried out the 9th of June 2021, with WAVEGEM in operation, using the AUV COMET 300 by RTSYS. Two surveys were undertaken: (1) In the first survey, the AUV navigated at an altitude of 10 m above the bottom and the range of the SSS was 50 m at each side of the COMET 300. Figure 13 shows the route followed by the AUV. (2) During the second survey, the COMET 300 navigated at an altitude of 6 m and the range of the SSS was 30 m at each side of the AUV. Figure 14 shows the route followed by the AUV in this second survey.	Completed The impacts observed by video surveys and side scan sonar, can be summarized in: (1) Artificial reef effect: the introduction of new substrates in the marine environment allows for many organisms (fauna and flora) to settle and grow and contribute to increase local biomass and biodiversity. These artificial reefs also attract fauna from higher trophic levels, such as fish. Furthermore, the added complexity of the biofouling assemblages and the artificial structures themselves provide refuge to some animals (e.g., lobsters) from predators. Although not monitored in the framework of the present project, this could lead to changes in the structure of communities and trophic webs, and could also favour the development of non-native species assemblages. (2) Changes in the seafloor morphology (e.g., removal of natural ripples) due to dragging of the chains during the operational phase, and/or an effect of the local change on sedimentation and currents, caused by the presence of the mooring lines. Due to the small area affected by the mooring lines, compared to the total area occupied by the installations (<1%), those impacts could be considered as non-significant over seafloor integrity.
Post-Installation Monitoring	Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment	BiMEP: Seabed integrity monitoring A single survey was carried out in July 2022, approximately one year after the deployment of the device. Unfortunately, in November 2021 the Penguin II suffered a breakdown and it was decommissioned in December 2022. Thus, as the WEC was not re-deployed and there was no certainty about short-term plans, the survey was undertaken with no device in the area. However, when Penguin II was removed, the moorings and the umbilical system were left and, as planned, the landing point of the lower catenaries, their routes till the anchors and the anchors were recorded in video. The survey was carried out with a SIBIU Pro (see description in Vinagre et al., 2021) in 13 and 14 of July 2022. Besides, as planned, a SSS survey was performed on 2 and 3 of August 2022. As mentioned above, the Penguin II was no longer deployed, but the moorings and the umbilical cable were not removed. The AUV COMET-300 of RTSYS with a coupled SSS was used.	Completed The impacts observed by video surveys and side scan sonar, can be summarized in: (1) Artificial reef effect: the introduction of new substrates in the marine environment allows for many organisms (fauna and flora) to settle and grow and contribute to increase local biomass and biodiversity. These artificial reefs also attract fauna from higher trophic levels, such as fish. Furthermore, the added complexity of the biofouling assemblages and the artificial structures themselves provide refuge to some animals (e.g., lobsters) from predators. Although not monitored in the framework of the present project, this could lead to changes in the structure of communities and trophic webs, and could also favour the development of non-native species assemblages. (2) Changes in the seafloor morphology (e.g., removal of natural ripples) due to dragging of the chains during the operational phase, and/or an effect of the local change on sedimentation and currents, caused by the presence of the mooring lines. Due to the small area affected by the mooring lines, compared to the total area occupied by the installations (<1%), those impacts could be considered as non-significant over seafloor integrity.
Construction	Noise Marine Mammals	SEMREV: Anchor removal and installation acoustic monitoring Carried out from 12th of May to 15th of June of 2023, in which three hydrophones were deployed to study the noise generated from the removal and installation of anchors in its new position. The hydrophones acquired data regularly for 10 minutes each 20 minutes with a sampling frequency of 288 kHz.	Completed During installation and removal, the SPL increases over the whole spectrum during these key periods, but especially at 62.5 Hz with maximum sound levels of 135 dB. As in the BiMEP test site, mooring lines could be detected above background noise as a peak centred in 4 kHz that increases with wave height.