IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v148y2015icp366-380.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A global wave power resource and its seasonal, interannual and long-term variability

Author

Listed:
  • Reguero, B.G.
  • Losada, I.J.
  • Méndez, F.J.

Abstract

Assessments of global wave power have been receiving increasing attention currently; however, a characterization of the global resources that holistically consider the different temporal scales that influence wave climate (monthly and seasonal, interannual and long-term) is still lacking. Moreover, the debate around the global figure of available resource is still widely open. This study provides a new global wave power assessment using a dataset that covers the period from 1948 to 2008, which was corrected using altimetry data and validated with buoys in terms of wave power. This study characterizes the mean wave power globally as well as its monthly and seasonal variability. Furthermore, it provides a link with the most relevant climate indices globally. The effect of the interannual variability is especially noteworthy for the Northern Hemisphere, where the seasonality is strongest. Additionally, we detect decadal long-term changes and determine that natural variability could explain a few of the differences found between decades. Lastly, we provide an assessment of the global theoretical wave power that covers the last six decades, compare approaches and estimates, and discuss factors of discrepancy. The global offshore wave power is estimated at 32,000TWh/yr, which is reduced to 16,000TWh/yr when considering the direction of the energy. The historical average change is 580TWh/decade. Our results indicate that the global natural variability could be a more relevant factor in the lifetime of wave farms than the historical long-term changes in wave energy.

Suggested Citation

  • Reguero, B.G. & Losada, I.J. & Méndez, F.J., 2015. "A global wave power resource and its seasonal, interannual and long-term variability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 366-380.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:148:y:2015:i:c:p:366-380
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.03.114
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191500416X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.03.114?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mackay, Edward B.L. & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Challenor, Peter G., 2010. "Uncertainty in wave energy resource assessment. Part 1: Historic data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1792-1808.
    2. Falnes, Johannes & Lovseth, Jorgen, 1991. "Ocean wave energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 768-775, October.
    3. Portilla, Jesus & Sosa, Jeison & Cavaleri, Luigi, 2013. "Wave energy resources: Wave climate and exploitation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 594-605.
    4. Arinaga, Randi A. & Cheung, Kwok Fai, 2012. "Atlas of global wave energy from 10 years of reanalysis and hindcast data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 49-64.
    5. Mackay, Edward B.L. & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Challenor, Peter G., 2010. "Uncertainty in wave energy resource assessment. Part 2: Variability and predictability," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1809-1819.
    6. de Andres, A. & Guanche, R. & Vidal, C. & Losada, I.J., 2015. "Adaptability of a generic wave energy converter to different climate conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 322-333.
    7. Guanche, R. & de Andrés, A.D. & Simal, P.D. & Vidal, C. & Losada, I.J., 2014. "Uncertainty analysis of wave energy farms financial indicators," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 570-580.
    8. Ching-Piao, Tsai & Ching-Her, Hwang & Chien, Hwa & Hao-Yuan, Cheng, 2012. "Study on the wave climate variation to the renewable wave energy assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 50-61.
    9. Harrison, Gareth P. & Wallace, A. Robin, 2005. "Climate sensitivity of marine energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 1801-1817.
    10. Gunn, Kester & Stock-Williams, Clym, 2012. "Quantifying the global wave power resource," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 296-304.
    11. Reeve, D.E. & Chen, Y. & Pan, S. & Magar, V. & Simmonds, D.J. & Zacharioudaki, A., 2011. "An investigation of the impacts of climate change on wave energy generation: The Wave Hub, Cornwall, UK," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2404-2413.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Besio, G. & Mentaschi, L. & Mazzino, A., 2016. "Wave energy resource assessment in the Mediterranean Sea on the basis of a 35-year hindcast," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 50-63.
    2. Morim, Joao & Cartwright, Nick & Hemer, Mark & Etemad-Shahidi, Amir & Strauss, Darrell, 2019. "Inter- and intra-annual variability of potential power production from wave energy converters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1224-1241.
    3. Mustapa, M.A. & Yaakob, O.B. & Ahmed, Yasser M. & Rheem, Chang-Kyu & Koh, K.K. & Adnan, Faizul Amri, 2017. "Wave energy device and breakwater integration: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 43-58.
    4. Neill, Simon P. & Hashemi, M. Reza, 2013. "Wave power variability over the northwest European shelf seas," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 31-46.
    5. Sierra, Joan Pau & White, Adam & Mösso, Cesar & Mestres, Marc, 2017. "Assessment of the intra-annual and inter-annual variability of the wave energy resource in the Bay of Biscay (France)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 853-868.
    6. Jadidoleslam, Navid & Özger, Mehmet & Ağıralioğlu, Necati, 2016. "Wave power potential assessment of Aegean Sea with an integrated 15-year data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1045-1059.
    7. Neill, Simon P. & Lewis, Matt J. & Hashemi, M. Reza & Slater, Emma & Lawrence, John & Spall, Steven A., 2014. "Inter-annual and inter-seasonal variability of the Orkney wave power resource," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 339-348.
    8. Choupin, Ophelie & Henriksen, Michael & Tomlinson, Rodger, 2022. "Interrelationship between variables for wave direction-dependent WEC/site-configuration pairs using the CapEx method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    9. Ophelie Choupin & Michael Henriksen & Amir Etemad-Shahidi & Rodger Tomlinson, 2021. "Breaking-Down and Parameterising Wave Energy Converter Costs Using the CapEx and Similitude Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-27, February.
    10. Silva, Dina & Martinho, Paulo & Guedes Soares, C., 2018. "Wave energy distribution along the Portuguese continental coast based on a thirty three years hindcast," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 1064-1075.
    11. Adrian De Andres & Jéromine Maillet & Jørgen Hals Todalshaug & Patrik Möller & David Bould & Henry Jeffrey, 2016. "Techno-Economic Related Metrics for a Wave Energy Converters Feasibility Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Joan Pau Sierra & Ricard Castrillo & Marc Mestres & César Mösso & Piero Lionello & Luigi Marzo, 2020. "Impact of Climate Change on Wave Energy Resource in the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    13. Liberti, Luca & Carillo, Adriana & Sannino, Gianmaria, 2013. "Wave energy resource assessment in the Mediterranean, the Italian perspective," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 938-949.
    14. Astariz, S. & Iglesias, G., 2015. "The economics of wave energy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 397-408.
    15. Aboobacker, V.M., 2017. "Wave energy resource assessment for eastern Bay of Bengal and Malacca Strait," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PA), pages 72-84.
    16. Fadaeenejad, M. & Shamsipour, R. & Rokni, S.D. & Gomes, C., 2014. "New approaches in harnessing wave energy: With special attention to small islands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 345-354.
    17. Zheng, Chong-wei, 2021. "Global oceanic wave energy resource dataset—with the Maritime Silk Road as a case study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 843-854.
    18. Rusu, Eugen & Onea, Florin, 2016. "Estimation of the wave energy conversion efficiency in the Atlantic Ocean close to the European islands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 687-703.
    19. Coe, Ryan G. & Ahn, Seongho & Neary, Vincent S. & Kobos, Peter H. & Bacelli, Giorgio, 2021. "Maybe less is more: Considering capacity factor, saturation, variability, and filtering effects of wave energy devices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    20. Guillou, Nicolas & Chapalain, Georges, 2015. "Numerical modelling of nearshore wave energy resource in the Sea of Iroise," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 942-953.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:148:y:2015:i:c:p:366-380. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.