Assessment of wave and solar energy potential along Western coast of India

Abstract

Renewable energy is the need of the day to address energy crisis in the world. Renewable energy share in India is nearly 14% of the total installed capacity. Ocean energy does not contribute to this share at all. With a long coast line ocean energy has enormous potential of electricity generation in India especially for remote coastal areas which are still deprived of electricity. Although India is blessed with large amount of solar power, but during south west monsoon months, western coast of India experiences rainy season for around three to four months i.e. from June to September. Wave energy potential increases during monsoon months, which is evident from considerable increase in significant wave height and mean wave period. A hybrid arrangement with wave energy and solar energy generation using stand alone micro-grids can solve the problem of energy deficit and can also supply households of remote coastal areas of India that have no electricity.