The impacts of wave energy conversion on coastal morphodynamics

In recent decades, utilization of renewable energy resources, including ocean waves, has been promoted as part of a global effort to transition away from the use of fossil fuels. This is largely due to the accompanying greenhouse gas emissions and its catastrophic impacts on the environment, which are expected to worsen with the changing climate. Energy from ocean waves can be harnessed and converted into electricity with devices referred to as wave energy converters (WECs). Many researchers have studied the impacts of the WECs on coastal hydrodynamics, however, the impact on morphodynamics is not as well understood. In this paper, we review studies that assess the impacts of wave farms on coastal erosion. The results of a number of studies that focus on various locations around the world show that WECs often generate clean and renewable energy without negatively impacting local coastlines, and in fact often mitigate coastal erosion.