Geometric robustness of offshore wind, wave, and solar resources for complementarity and stability

Abstract

The integration of different renewable energies is seen as a practical approach to reducing the natural fluctuations associated with each source, moving beyond the traditional single-value metrics. This study presents an analytical framework to optimize this integration, based on a multidimensional Pareto boundary analysis. Furthermore, geometric indicators are defined to quantify the robustness and the flexibility of the solutions that successfully identified zones of operational robustness and sensitivity, providing quantitative insights into the resilience of the hybrid resource allocations against fluctuations. Although the proposed framework applies to any environment, it is demonstrated in a 43-year assessment study of the integration of wind, wave, and solar resources across the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Morocco, using hourly ERA5 data (1981–2023). The strong seasonal imprints of the resources determine the optimal combination of energy mixes. Winter productivity is driven by wind-wave synergies that ensure highly stable conditions across the Atlantic. Conversely, in summer, solar energy emerges as the critical stabilizing factor. The southern regions (R3 and R4) emerged as optimal locations for deploying hybrid offshore plants.