Speaker
Description
Maritime decarbonization is increasing the demand for low-carbon electricity at ports and along shipping corridors, but offshore renewable resource assessments often remain disconnected from where energy is actually consumed. This study develops a global port-centered screening framework to evaluate whether offshore wind, wave, and solar resources can support coastal and maritime energy demand. Offshore renewable energy supply is estimated from ten years of ERA5 reanalysis data and converted into annual energy density under low, average, and high efficiency scenarios. Offshore resource cells are allocated to nearby ports within 25, 50, and 100 km access radii using a nearest-port rule to avoid double counting. Coastal electricity demand is estimated from gridded population data and national per-capita electricity consumption, and a port-level mismatch index is calculated as the difference between accessible renewable supply and allocated coastal demand. Automatic Identification System (AIS) traffic intensity is further overlaid to identify regions where offshore energy surplus coincides with dense maritime activity. The screening results indicate that accessible offshore renewable supply can exceed port-centered coastal demand in many regions, although deficits remain concentrated near high-demand coastal nodes. The access radius strongly affects both the magnitude and spatial continuity of surplus. Regions where surplus overlaps with intense AIS traffic may be suitable candidates for floating charging systems, while remote high-surplus regions may be more appropriate for hydrogen or ammonia export. The proposed framework provides an initial spatial basis for identifying maritime renewable energy pathways before detailed techno-economic and operational feasibility analysis.
| Topic Area | Sustainable Ocean Structures |
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