What’s the size of the wave power prize?

Bigger is better - but we all know that’s not always true. Small can also be beautiful. That’s certainly the case in wave energy.

Smaller devices prove their worth

While much of the sector’s focus has historically been on larger, ‘utility scale’ machines, many smaller devices are now coming to the fore and proving their worth.
Noisy, inefficient, polluting diesel generators are used by fish farms, remote coastal mines, island communities and more across the world.

Wave energy can offer a cleaner, greener alternative, and therein lies the opportunity - but just how big is it?

Measuring the size of the wave power prize

University of Edinburgh IDCORE student Ciaran Frost has taken data from the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's WaveWatch III model and used it to map the world.

His analysis highlights where small-scale wave energy resource exists – effectively outlining the size of the prize.

He used 'hindcast' data (think the opposite of 'forecast'), and the power matrix of Scottish Renewables member Albatern's 45kW WaveNET device to reach startling conclusions.

Where in the world?

His results were presented at the recent International Conference on Ocean Energy in Edinburgh earlier this month.

They show that worldwide there are many promising areas for small-scale wave energy, including Scotland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Japan, New Zealand and Chile.

One interesting conclusion from the work, writes Ciaran, was that: “Small scale devices have power capture properties which do not always match theoretical expectation.

“Often there is a temptation to consider areas where the waves contain the most power. However, this does not always directly relate to higher power capture for the device, which might operate better in smaller, locally wind driven waves at higher frequencies.”

Plenty of fish

While Aquatera have completed similar work on tidal streams – and also presented at ICOE – Ciaran’s conclusion will be welcomed by developers such as Albatern, Carnegie and AWS Ocean Energy and others.

There’s certainly plenty of fish in the world’s seas for small-scale wave devices.
Blog by Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager, Scottish Renewables