Techno-Economic Assessment of Developing Combined Offshore Wind and Wave Energy in Australia

Abstract

Abstract Australia has significant offshore wind and wave energy potential that can provide a long-term solution to the ever-increasing power demand and contribute to the future energy mix. The integration of offshore wind and wave energy has been proposed previously, but considered to be difficult due to the high cost and high intermittency of developing ocean renewable energy sources. In addition, the economic analysis of the integrated offshore wind and wave systems, considering life cycle cost, energy benefits, market regulation costs and future carbon price, has not been studied thoroughly in Australia. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the economic feasibility of a co-located offshore wind and wave energy farm in multiple key locations around the Australian coastline. The high-fidelity life-cycle cost and economic benefit models are developed under different technical deployment constraints. Furthermore, the paper studies the impact of electricity market regulation cost and future carbon prices on deploying the proposed combined energy farm. The results of this paper provide a guideline for industry leaders, investors and policymakers at the pre-planning stage of ocean renewable energy system development and deployment.