An integrated approach for the decision of wave energy converter deployment based on forty-five-years high-resolution wave climate modeling

Climate change is driving the urgent need for sustainable and renewable energy sources to mitigate its impacts and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean wave energy, as one of the promising alternatives to fossil fuels, plays a critical role in providing renewable energy in coastal areas. To fully exploit regional wave energy potential, various performance metrics of wave energy converters (WECs) need to be considered to optimize location decisions and WEC categories. This study introduces an integrated approach by incorporating a novel factor, the maximum consecutive cut-off duration of WECs due to extreme weather conditions. It aims to enhance the efficiency of WEC selection and deployment location optimization in the southern and eastern Asian seas. Through 45 years of high-resolution (up to 250 m) ocean wave simulations, conducted using WaveWatch III ®(WW3) on unstructured mesh, Wave Dragon was identified as providing the highest index. This study suggests that placing WECs along the coastlines of the South China Sea, the eastern and northern Bay of Bengal, the western sector of the Malay Archipelago, and parts of the Arafura Sea may result in the most efficient conversion of wave energy in the southern and eastern Asian seas. While the proposed approach alone may not dictate deployment decisions, this study provides an applicable index to potentially rank WEC deployment options in the eastern and southern Asian seas, by considering both exploitable wave energy production, and long-term stability.