Research Project

Offshore wind farms (OWF) and floating solar photovoltaic farms (FPV) are becoming crucial parts of global renewable energy plans. Combining OWF and FPV offers a promising approach to improving energy generation efficiency and cutting costs through shared infrastructure and operational synergies.

The main objectives of this study are: (1) To determine the energy mix scenario for offshore wind farm and solar power plants considering the energy demand in different parts of Australia; (2) To develop a tool that can autonomously identify optimal site locations for offshore wind and solar plants considering both environmental and social constraints/impacts as well as energy demand; and (3) To develop an interactive spatial  heat map of potential optimal locations. The Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach will be applied to consider all economic, technical, social, and environmental aspects. Moreover, the project will create a spatial data platform that autonomously collects and dynamically analyses various datasets using machine learning, statistical and MCDM methods. The platform will include a user-friendly GIS-based visualisation module that displays suitable locations for offshore renewable energy systems to decision-makers. The developed tool will be validated for the Australian coastal context but will be designed so that it is generalisable worldwide in order that is has far reaching application.   

Funding Information: Blue Economy CRC, Oct 2023 - Apr 2027, Project value: $127,200

F. Ali, A. Etemad-Shahidi, R. A. Stewart, M.J. Sanjari, J. A. Hayward, and R. C. Nicholson, "Co-located offshore wind and floating solar farms: A systematic quantitative literature review of site selection criteria," Renewable Energy Focus, vol. 50, p. 100611, 2024. Article Link.