A Human-Centric Framework for Integrating Social and Economic Dimensions in Offshore Energy Systems

Offshore energy systems, including wind, wave, and tidal technologies, are rapidly advancing as key contributors to future energy supply. While these systems offer large-scale generation potential and environmental benefits, their implementation introduces complex interactions with local communities, regional economies, and evolving energy markets. This work proposes a human-centric framework to support the development and operation of offshore energy systems by actively incorporating community engagement, social considerations, and economic dynamics—particularly through energy trading mechanisms.

The framework integrates social participation, community engagement, and transactive energy concepts to align offshore energy projects with public needs and regional economic opportunities. Transactive energy systems enable decentralized energy exchange based on real-time pricing and demand signals, creating a dynamic environment where energy producers and consumers can interact more efficiently. In coastal regions, this opens the door for communities to participate in energy markets, fostering localized value creation through shared energy usage, community investment, and responsive demand-side behavior.

A key feature of the framework is its human-centric design, which incorporates behavioral modeling and feedback from individuals, households, and local institutions into energy system simulations. This enables a responsive and adaptive planning process that accounts for public perception, community preferences, workforce participation, and acceptance of offshore infrastructure.

The framework connects technical models of offshore generation and grid integration with economic models of energy trading and social models of user engagement. It supports scenario-based analysis to explore how different market structures and community engagement strategies influence performance, cost-effectiveness, and public acceptance of offshore energy systems. We demonstrate how the framework can be used by planners, developers, and policymakers to evaluate offshore energy strategies that are technically sound, economically beneficial, and supported through active community involvement.

By integrating human considerations into energy system design and market interactions, this approach offers a comprehensive tool for shaping the future of offshore energy in a way that maximizes its technical and economic value while promoting stronger, more participatory connections between infrastructure and the people it serves. The framework supports efficient deployment and trading of offshore energy, with outcomes that reflect system-level optimization and meaningful community engagement.