Abstract
A technique to analyse the economic viability of offshore farms composed of wave energy converters is proposed. Firstly, the inputs, whose value will be considered afterwards in the economic step, was calculated using geographic information software. Secondly, the energy produced by each wave converter was calculated. Then the economic factors were computed. Finally, the restriction that considers the depth of the region (bathymetry) was put together with the economic outputs, whose value depends on the floating Wave Energy Converter (WEC). The method proposed was applied to the Cantabric and Atlantic coasts in the north of Spain, a region with a good offshore wave energy resource. In addition, three representative WECs were studied: Pelamis, AquaBuoy and Wave Dragon; and five options for electric tariffs were analysed. Results show the Wave Energy Converter that has the best results regarding its LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy), IRR (Internal Rate of Return) and NPV (Net Present Value), and which area is best for the development of a wave farm.
Highlights
On December 2015, the meeting of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) achieved the Paris Agreement, which explains the importance of combating climate change in areas such as the long-term temperature objective, global peaking and mitigation, among others [1]
The aim of this article is to carry out a procedure to estimate the economic viability of floating offshore farms dedicated to the exploitation of wave energy, especially in terms of their economic characteristics, such as the Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE), which allows to compare different energy technologies at the same location, or its Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV), whose value are associated to the economic feasibility of the farm
The best LCOE has a value of 513.17 €/MWh for the Wave Dragon (Figure 10c)
Summary
On December 2015, the meeting of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) achieved the Paris Agreement, which explains the importance of combating climate change in areas such as the long-term temperature objective, global peaking and mitigation, among others [1]. In this context, repowering wind farms [2] and offshore renewable energies are being developed as alternatives to fossil fuels, being of interest to institutions [3]. This is especially important for large coastal areas, as the problem of supplying wave energy to an isolated island is more specific and the needs are often more demanding, but even there studies are required [13,14,15,16,17,18,19]
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