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Mapping offshore wind potential and spatial trade-offs for marine planning in Caribbean Small Island Developing States
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DOI：10.3389/fmars.2026.1810069.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Offshore wind is a prominent strategic option for decarbonizing power systems and enhancing energy security in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). However; its strategic implementation in the Caribbean is hindered by fragmented spatial data concerning resource availability; technological feasibility; and multi-sectoral trade-offs. This study establishes a reproducible; marine-planning-oriented spatial screening framework that synthesizes wind resource climatologies with critical environmental constraints to delineate opportunity and trade-off zones across the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of 12 Caribbean SIDS. We first mapped wind speeds at 100 m and integrated country-level technical potentials; including fixed-bottom and floating offshore foundation technologies to facilitate an integrated cross-jurisdictional assessment. A multi-criteria conflict index was subsequently developed from spatial datasets representing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sensitive benthic habitats; specifically coral reefs and seagrass meadows. Our spatial analysis identifies 10.03% of the maritime domain as ‘Opportunity’ zones—areas where high wind resources align with low ecological and jurisdictional constraints. Significantly; ‘Trade-off’ zones occupy only 0.36% of the region; revealing a pronounced spatial decoupling between peak wind resources and existing ecological protections. Conversely; 14.88% of the area is classified as ‘Avoid’ zones; predominantly concentrated in nearshore environments. By integrating resource potential; foundation technologies; and constraint layers into a transparent workflow; this study provides a rigorous evidence base to transition from national-level aggregates to actionable; sub-EEZ siting strategies in the Caribbean.
Keywords:
blue economy
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)
Caribbean SIDS
floating offshore wind
multi-sectoral conflict
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