David Mateo Fouz: «Galicia has an immense potential in marine renewable energy resources»
The so-called energy transition, one of the main battlefronts in the fight against climate change, has an immense source of renewable and inexhaustible resources in the seas and oceans.
However, their use still has a long way to go before reaching viable energy production levels. This hindrance is mainly due to the multiple technical challenges that its implementation faces and certain biases when it comes to betting on certain technological proposals.
That is why it is so important to highlight the work of people like David Mateo Fouz Varela, who work daily to develop and use innovative technologies often placed in the background, as is the case of wave and tidal power.
Predoctoral Researcher in the Hydraulic Engineering Area of Campus Terra, David Mateo Fouz is currently in the last phase of his PhD studies. He is pending to defend his thesis in which he explores new methodologies for planning the use of marine renewable energies in coastal areas, focusing on hydrokinetic energy, which results from the interaction between tidal currents and fluvial freshwater inputs.
Today, we talked to him about his time at Campus Terra as a native of Lugo, about the future of Galicia in terms of marine renewable energy production and about how to combine the exploitation of energy resources with the protection of the ecosystems in which it is developed.
-Let's start at the beginning. What led you to dive into the world of hydraulic engineering?
-During my training in Civil Engineering I had contact with many subjects related to Hydraulic Engineering, which strongly awakened my interest in expanding my knowledge and developing professionally in this field.
-What led you to make this decision? As a native of Lugo, what does it mean to you to be able to study and work in your city in a reference campus of specialization such as Campus Terra?
-Once that first contact was made, I had the opportunity to do my Final Degree Project under the modality of applied research, actively collaborating with the faculty of the Hydraulic Engineering area, and being able to see their involvement in research and in the promotion of scientific culture (which has, to some extent, a very important weight within this discipline). This was, to a large extent, what made me decide.
Campus Terra has a very important role in the development of the city and the province, and it ultimately acts as a catalyst for all the socioeconomic activity of its surroundings. For me, first training and then working on this Campus is a great opportunity to develop professionally and, at the same time, contribute to the generation of knowledge and the development of my land.
-You are a Research Group GI-2084 CIGEO (Integrated Group of Civil Engineering and Geomatics) member. What are the group's current research lines?
-CIGEO is a group with a marked multidisciplinary character, and, consequently, it brings together various lines of research, which can be grouped into four main areas: Transport Infrastructures, Geomatics, Civil Construction and Hydraulic Engineering.
-You were part of the PORTOS project (Ports Towards Energy Self-sufficiency), in which you pursued, among other things, the development of marine renewable energies on the European Atlantic coast. What were the findings of this research?
-Considering the synergies between available energy resources, existing infrastructure and energy demand in port facilities, mitigating their climate footprint is essential for the entire coastline, where a large percentage of the world's population resides.
Thus, within the framework of the PORTOS project, different studies were carried out on the integration of renewable energies (both marine and conventional) in various harbors of the European Atlantic coast (in the case of Spain, the Port Authorities of Vigo and Tenerife participated directly as project partners), aiming, ultimately, at their energy self-sufficiency or, at least, their energy self-sufficiency, The aim is to make them self-sufficient in energy or, at least, to supply a large part of their consumption through this type of clean energy sources and, consequently, to contribute to the reduction of emissions and the improvement of air quality in this type of infrastructure, which is essential for the transport chain and the development of economic activity.
For this purpose, a detailed characterization of the different renewable resources was carried out through various techniques, being the USC responsible for, among other activities, defining a common methodology for the numerical modeling of marine energy resources, mainly wave and hydrokinetic. Once the energy availability, consumption patterns and existing infrastructures (as well as their possible adaptations) in the different ports used as a case study were analyzed, the most suitable alternatives for the diversification of the energy mix of each of them were designed based on the combination of different renewable resources.
-What is the situation in Galicia with respect to the production and use of marine energies? How do these practices relate to the ecosystems in which they are developed?
-Galicia has immense potential in terms of renewable energy resources of marine origin. However, their degree of development still needs to reach commercial viability since their exploitation still represents a very important technical and engineering challenge.
It should also be noted that there is a wide disparity between the degree of maturity of the different conversion technologies. Let us think, for example, of offshore wind energy, where the production of wind turbines and floating platforms is already a reality in the Ferrol area (although mostly destined abroad).
There is also a clear predisposition of the Administration for its implementation through the definition of specific areas of high potential included in the so-called POEM (Maritime Space Management Plans) of the MITECO (Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge). This contrasts with the situation of, for example, wave energy, since, despite being in the region of the Iberian Peninsula with the greatest potential for its use, only a series of small initiatives have been put into practice, always conditioned by the technological challenge of the survival of the converter devices.
In addition to the technological component, progress in developing this type of renewable energy involves, as in the case of wind power and the aforementioned POEMs, the definition of suitable areas for their exploitation, which is always a controversial process full of uncertainty.
In this respect, scientific research has much to say since this type of decision-making can only be approached through multidisciplinary approaches that ultimately lead to Integrated Coastal Zone Management. This ties in perfectly with the answer to the second question; since the sustainable development of the coastline must be an inalienable maxim in its management, being necessary to analyze in detail the coexistence between uses (existing or potential), without forgetting that energy production can be another use of the coast, whose possible impact on the ecosystem must be properly evaluated and taken into account in the decision-making processes.
To this end, we must establish clear priorities and zoning that respond to each coastal region's main socioeconomic and environmental debates, studying the incorporation of new uses in a calm manner and without impositions.
In short, the ultimate aim of this type of process is to harmonize coastal management, thus reducing possible uncertainties and establishing a clear legal framework that will ultimately contribute to the mobilization of investment by the public and private sectors.
-In addition, you also carried out studies to characterize the hydro-morphodynamics of estuaries in relation to the production of shellfish banks. What are the hydro-morphodynamic characteristics of Galicia that make our territory so rich in exploitable marine resources?
-The Galician estuaries have unique characteristics for shellfish production, mainly due to their low temperature and the high concentration of nutrients that can be found in them.
This is a consequence of upwelling processes which, although they have been recorded throughout the year, are common in spring and summer (March-April to September-October). During these events, winds from the north or northeast cause the surface water of the estuaries to move towards the open sea, being replaced by colder, nutrient-laden water from the North Atlantic, which rises from the continental shelf and finally enters the interior of the estuaries.
These phenomena can be modulated by the orientation of the coast, which modifies the wind speed and direction. In the particular case of the Rías Baixas, its northeast-southwest alignment makes these processes very important, since its configuration is very favorable for the northeast wind to cause these dynamics.
-What factors could cause these dynamics to change, and what would be the socioeconomic and environmental consequences?
-It is clear that climate change and anthropogenic pressures can jeopardize the functioning and dynamics of coastal ecosystems. The most direct consequences are already widely known (e.g., temperature and water level changes, wind regime, etc.). However, others may go unnoticed, such as the modification of other thermohaline variables such as water salinity (think of episodes of extreme precipitation such as those experienced a few days ago in Valencia, which finally ended up in the coastal ecosystem), changes in the wave regime, whose energy level can be related to the presence of certain species such as barnacles, etc.
Its consequences for Atlantic Galicia would be innumerable at a socioeconomic level since we only have to think of the amount of employment generated around fishing, aquaculture and shellfishing (without going into its consequences on other recreational uses of the coastal ecosystem such as tourism or navigation, which could also be compromised in this context).
In addition, at an environmental level, we would be talking about the degradation of ecosystems of great value, including our estuaries, both from the geomorphological and biodiversity points of view.
-Concerning the production of river renewable energy, are there currently alternatives to reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants? What are the new trends regarding using the water cycle for energy generation?
Alternatives for small-scale hydropower production focus on the self-supply of isolated communities or small infrastructures (e.g., mini-hydropower plants). However, it should be borne in mind that hydroelectric power is a basic contribution to the electricity grid, i.e., a backup for the system when traditional renewables (solar and wind), which are more affected by production peaks and seasonality, are not producing or are not producing at full capacity, so the issue of reservoirs, which is very controversial, cannot be approached in a simplistic manner.
In addition, in relation to some of the above issues, there is their role in the lamination of floods of extreme flows, the future probability of which is increasingly higher due to climate change.
Another issue would be to talk about their management, for example, about emptying operations and their planning, or about the treatment of sediments deposited in them during their operation, aspects whose potential impacts on river and coastal ecosystems do not usually attract the necessary public attention, and on which scientific research may have a lot to say.
With regard to these new trends or alternatives for the use of energy during the water cycle, we can find from microturbines adapted for the production of hydrokinetic energy in shallow rivers or estuaries (from 1 m depth), to the use of wastewater for the production of energy for the self-supply of purification facilities or the air conditioning and cooling of buildings. Or, more experimentally, the use of rainwater for energy production through solid-liquid contact panels that mimic solar panels. In any case, most of these technologies are still in the development phase.
-And finally, as a young researcher, what advice would you give to the new generations who want to start in the world of scientific research?
-To be patient, persevering and optimistic, and, above all, to have passion for what they do, because it is not an easy path and the conditions are not always the best. Passion is a fundamental component of scientific research, but they must fight as hard as possible so that this passion can become a way of life.
However, despite everything, it is a very intense path that will bring them a lot of satisfaction and constant personal growth and that will ultimately prepare them for the challenges they may face in the future.