Wave Power Potential Research Articles

Quantifying wave power and wave energy converter array production potential

Global wave energy inventories show that the West Coast of Canada possesses one of the most energetic wave climates in the world, with an annual wave energy flux of 40–50kW/m at the continental shelf. With this wave climate there is an opportunity to generate significant quantities of electricity through wave energy conversion (WEC) technologies. However, detailed knowledge of both the temporal and spatial distribution of both wave climate and energy production characteristics are missing precursors to the development of this regional wave energy opportunity.To quantify the gross wave energy resource along the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and hence the feasibility of deploying WEC technologies, a detailed Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) numerical wave propagation model was developed. The SWAN model encompasses 410,000km2, covers 1500km of the Western Canadian coastline and the resolution is optimised by water depth and proximity to areas of high wave energy flux. The SWAN model hindcasts wave conditions for the 10year period, at a 3h temporal resolution. Independent validation of the SWAN model indicates a 0.92 correlation coefficient for significant wave heights and 0.80 for average wave periods.To translate the gross resource data into electricity generation estimates, novel methods to reveal high priority WEC farm deployment locations were implemented. Using generic WEC performance metrics, theoretical wave farm outputs were synthesized over a decade long time scale. Regional WEC farms were shown capable to providing up to 139.92GWh of energy to the electrical grid annually. The seasonality of the WEC generated electricity correlates well with the load demand within the region.This updated understanding of the wave climate and wave power production opportunity in Western Canada provides the necessary data to electrical utilities and policy makers to assess the opportunity benefits and costs associated with future WEC industry in Canada.

Harnessing wave power in open seas

We discuss some of the latent potential for harnessing wave power in open seas. Large farms of wave-energy converters in the open sea may extract energy several times over the course of an ocean basin, allowing the waves to grow under the influence of the wind, and capturing energy otherwise dissipated. Our calculations show that such an approach results in increasing the wave power potential by an order of magnitude compared to coastal capture alone. To carry out such calculations one needs the captured, reflected, and transmitted energy transfer functions of the farms. Here we simulate the functioning of the farms by one simplified two-dimensional converter consisting of two vertical floating plates, for which explicit transfer functions are calculated. Our main goals are to increase the awareness of the scientific community to the importance of harvesting wave power in open seas, and to provide a preliminary picture for the geometry and size of wave energy farms in open seas.

Long-Term Wave Power Statistics for Individual Waves

The paper provides long-term bivariate distributions of wave power with wave height, and wave power with wave period. This is relevant for assessments of wave power devices and their potential for converting energy from waves. The results can be applied to compare systematically the wave power potential for individual waves at different locations based on short-term statistical description of the individual waves and the long-term statistical information of the wave climate. Furthermore, it allows for assessment of the efficiency of a given wave power device for each location.

Wave energy resource assessment for the Indian shelf seas

As a renewable energy, the assessment of wave power potential around a country is crucial. Knowledge of the temporal and spatial variations of wave energy is required for locating a wave power plant. This study investigates the variations in wave power at 19 locations covering the Indian shelf seas using the ERA-Interim dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The ERA-Interim data is compared with the measured wave parameters in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Along the western shelf seas of India, the seasonal oscillations lead to variation of the wave power from the lowest seasonal mean value (2.6 kW/m) in the post-monsoon period (October–January) to the highest value (25.9 kW/m) in the south-west monsoon (June–September) period. Significant (10–20%) inter-annual variations are detected at few locations. The mean annual wave power along the eastern Indian shelf seas (2.6–9.9 kW/m) is lower than the mean annual wave power along the western part (7.9–11.3 kW/m). The total annual mean wave power available along the western shelf seas of India is around 19.5 GW. Along the eastern shelf seas, it is around 8.7 GW. In the Indian Shelf seas, the annual mean wave power is highest (11.3 kW/m) at the southern location (location 11), and the seasonal variation in wave power is also less. Hence, location 11 is a better location for a wave power plant in the Indian shelf seas.

Wave energy potential in the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin. An integrated 10-year study

The main characteristics of wave energy potential over Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin, an area of increased interest for energy resources exploration/exploitation, is presented in this work. In particular, an integrated hindcasting platform consisting of state-of-the-art wind-wave numerical models at a very high resolution mode is utilized to produce a 10-year database for the wave energy potential in the Levantine Basin and the environmental parameters that affect it. The numerical results are analyzed by means of a variety of statistical measures focusing, apart from the conventional statistical information, on the potential impact of extreme values and the probability distribution functions that optimally describe the spatial and temporal distribution of the wave power potential over the Eastern Mediterranean sea area. The regions with increased values of wave energy potential are mainly the western and southern coastlines of Cyprus island, the sea area of Lebanon and Israel, as well as the coastline of Egypt especially around Alexandria. Over these areas, relatively low but also stable, and hence exploitable, wave energy potential is revealed. However, non-trivial impact of infrequent values is also recorded.

Wave energy potential along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The wave power potential along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia was investigated using the 31-year (1979–2009) output simulation of the NOAA WAVEWATCH III™. The result shows strong seasonal fluctuation in which the wave power during winter monsoon is much higher than other seasons. Additionally, the wave power also fluctuates inter-annually due to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It was revealed that wave power along the northern section of the coast is more energetic than the southern region, with mean annual of 4 and 2.5 kW/m, respectively. The significant difference between the two regions is due to the sheltering effects of the multiple islands. The 5% exceedance values, which represent the highest wave power, range from 8 to 15 kW/m and 1.5 to 4.2 kW/m for the northern and southern sections of the coast, respectively. It was also found that the bulk of the wave energy flux is generated by waves with significant wave height between 1 to 3 m and mean wave energy periods between 6 to 9 s. Generally, with efficient wave energy converters, the renewable wave energy can be viable to be harvested, particularly in the northern region during winter monsoon period.

강원권 및 동남권 지역의 파력발전 잠재성 평가

This study performed an assessment of wave power potential in the Kangwon and Dongnam regions encompassing the East Sea and part of South Sea. Annual electricity production and economic effects of 28 wave energy converters with 750kW capacity were analyzed using significant wave height and peak wave period data(created from the NOAA`s NWW3 model) and InVEST software(developed by Stanford University and University of Minnesota). Annual electricity production was estimated to be up to 1,207MWh/year and at least 163MWh/year. The spatial pattern of annual electricity production showed that the sea far from land has higher wave power potential than the sea near coast. The net present value(NPV) of 28 wave energy converters was calculated by considering an operation period of 25 years. When assuming that the electricity produced from wave energy converters is transferred to onshore power plants through underwater cables, the NPV was estimated to be up to 5,883USD(6,600,000KRW) and at least -63,494USD(-71,000,000KRW). In contrast, the NPV increased up to 28,095 USD(31,600,000KRW) when assuming that the electricity is utilized in the Ulleungdo and Dokdo. In addition, it was found that the break-even line of NPV in the East Sea becomes closer towards the land according to the increment of electricity price. The NPV of wave energy converters near the Ulleungdo and Dokdo will be 88,158 USD(99,000,000KRW) if the increment of electricity price is 100KRW.

Estimation of the wave power resource in the Caribbean Sea in areas with scarce instrumentation. Case study: Isla Fuerte, Colombia

There are great difficulties in properly evaluating the power present in waves in the Caribbean Sea due to of the scarcity of marine instrumentation and the reduced length of the existing records. This research aimed to design a new methodology for estimating wave power potential in places lacking instrumentation by using reanalysis wind and wave generation models to generate hourly synthetic wave information (maps and wave series), which was later compared and corrected with nearby buoy measurements. Nested runs of the models allowed the results to be downscaled and detailed wave power maps to be created. The best sites for a possible wave farm could then be identified. These maps were built from the propagation of characteristic sea-states of the synthetic series, and were chosen using joint probability, power percentiles and the k-means clustering algorithms. New series were generated in the chosen locations and processed to determine the wave power potential in different time scales. Isla Fuerte, a small non grid-connected island in the Colombian Caribbean, served as a case study for the implementation of the methodology.

Wave Power Statistics for Sea States

This paper provides a bivariate distribution of wave power and significant wave height, as well as a bivariate distribution of wave power and a characteristic wave period for sea states, and the statistical aspects of wave power for sea states are discussed. This is relevant for, e.g., making assessments of wave power devices and their potential for converting energy from waves. The results can be applied to compare systematically the wave power potential at different locations based on long term statistical description of the wave climate.

Wave power statistics for individual waves

The paper provides a bivariate distribution of wave power and wave height, as well as a bivariate distribution of wave power and wave period; both bivariate distributions are for individual waves within a sea state. This is relevant for e.g. making assessments of wave power devices and their potential for converting energy from waves. The results can be applied to compare systematically the wave power potential for individual waves in a given sea state at different locations.

Wave power potential along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern USA

The wave power potential along the southeast Atlantic coast of the United States of America bounded by latitudes 27° N and 38° N and longitudes 82° W and 72° W (i.e. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida) is investigated. The available data from National Data Buoy Center wave stations in the given area are examined. Temporal trends of the wave heights, wave periods and the wave power are analyzed for a time scale of weeks. The time series from the wave stations are downsampled with a 15-day moving average filter with near 50% overlapping to study the seasonal trends. Power calculated from hourly significant wave heights and average wave periods is compared to power calculated using spectral wave density. It is found that a factor of 0.61 needs to be applied to the wave power calculated from hourly significant wave heights and average periods in order to get the same results with the power calculated from spectral wave density. The mean power within 50 km of the shore is determined to be ∼9 kW/m, whereas higher power (∼15 kW/m) is available further offshore.

Wind and Wave Power Potential

Renewable energy is accepted as a key source for the future, not only for Turkey, but also for the world. This study investigates the potential for wind and wave power around the world and in Turkey, and provides an overview of the historical development of both energy resources. Turkey has a considerably high level of renewable energy resources that can be a part of the total energy network in the country. Wind energy has received a lot of attention lately in Turkey as one of the most promising and economically feasible technologies for clean power generation, while the number of studies conducted on wave energy is relatively lower. Based on the values obtained from the latest Turkey Wind Atlas in 2002, Turkey's total theoretically available potential for wind power is found to be about 88,000 MW/yr. Besides this, Turkey's wave power potential is estimated to be around 18,500 MW/yr, with an average wave energy capacity of 140 billion kWh annually. These figures indicate that Turkey has considerable potential for generating electricity from wind and wave power. To date, 3 wind power plants were installed with a total capacity of 18.9 MW, while there is not any wave energy plants installed in the country as of yet. Taking into account the present applications, it may be concluded that wind energy in Turkey is a promising alternative. As the public recognizes the projects, the progress will continue.

27-SEX SPECIFIC TIME PATTERNS OF SUICIDAL ACTS ON THE GERMAN RAILWAY SYSTEM.

We estimate the montly mean wave-power potential at about 28 GW along the coast of Turkey. The montly mean energy per unit width of wavefront has also been estimated.

Model Studies of Oscillating Water Column Wave-Energy Device

A harbor oscillating water column wave-energy device has been selected for the Indian pilot wave-energy program. The site has a water depth of about 12 m and an average annual wave-power potential of 13 kW/m. Such sites are attractive locations for fishing breakwaters. Due to the relatively low power potential, these oscillating water column devices are intended to be modules of a multifunctional breakwater. The present paper highlights the results of the scale-model experiments carried out on a prototype wave-energy caisson.

Wave-power potential along the coast of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been studied to determine the wave-power potential. Using wave data (4 yr) from accelerometers, pressure sensors (1 yr) and a visual observation program (10 yr), the wave-power density was calculated at five locations. The annual average increases southwards, ranging between 2.3 kW/m at Mar de Ajó and 7.5 kW/m at Puerto Quequén. Annual averages of maximum wave power give 69 and 61.3 kW/m for Punta Médanos and Puerto Quequén, respectively.

Wave power over the indian seas during the southwest monsoon season

The Indian research ship R.V. Gaveshini made cruises during the Monex 79 expedition period in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal for wave observations using a wave recorder. From these wave measurements, the wave power potential has been computed off the Indian coasts during the period of observations.

Wave-power potential along the coast of Turkey

We estimate the montly mean wave-power potential at about 28 GW along the coast of Turkey. The montly mean energy per unit width of wavefront has also been estimated.

Wave power potential off the south-west Indian coast

The wave power potential off the south-west Indian coast is examined using wave data recorded at four locations for one year. Salter's method is used but modified for intermediate waters. The annual average wave power ranges between 0.7 and 10.9 kW/m, with Trivandrum recording the highest and Tellicherry the lowest. At Trivandrum, the average power varies from 2.2 to 30.9 kW/m through the different months, the peak occurring in June. Here, the monsoonal average is 17.4 kW/m and the highest recorded value is 68.9 kW/m.

Wave-power potential off the South-East coast of India

The method used to estimate wave-power potential from recorded time series of water-surface elevation off Madras is described.

Estimation of wave power potential along the Indian coastline

An assessment of the wave power potential along the Indian coastline has been made for different seasons. The locations off Bombay on the west coast and off Visakhapatnam on the east coast have the greatest wave power potentials. The occurrence of wave heights and periods are presented graphically. Monthly wave power variations for locations along the Indian coastline are also reported.