Study on the potential of oscillating water column – Ocean wave power plant in 3T (Underdeveloped, Frontmost, and Outermost) regions in Indonesia as a new renewable energy

Abstract

As the largest archipelagic country globally, Indonesia holds great energy potential to be used as electric energy, one of which is ocean wave energy. Energy from ocean waves that never run out and can reach many remote islands, becomes the optimal option to be used as a power plant in supplying electricity in Indonesia’s 3T (Underdeveloped, Frontmost, and Outermost). By utilizing the movement of waves in oscillating columns, ocean wave power plants – oscillating water column (PLTGL-OWC) become one of the simplest types of power plants, and easy to apply in various locations. This study aims to see the potential of the electric power generated by PLTGL-OWC. The data used is a hindcast of wave height, wavelength and the period from Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) during 2013-2018. Electrical power is obtained after calculating the power of ocean waves and then multiplied by the efficiency of the OWC system in this study, which is 11.917% in units of kW. It was found that the condition of sea wave height in the 3T region in this study peaked in the JJA period when the Australian monsoon was active. The area with the tremendous potential for generating power is located in West Coast Regency, Lampung with an average electrical power of 25.85 kW per year, while the lowest power potential is in Nias Regency, which is 0.12 kW per year.