Sea wave energy is being increasingly regarded in many countries as a major and promising resource. The paper deals with the development of wave energy utilization since the 1970s. Several topics are addressed: the characterization of the wave energy resource; theoretical background, with especial relevance to hydrodynamics of wave energy absorption and control; how a large range of devices kept being proposed and studied, and how such devices can be organized into classes; the conception, design, model-testing, construction and deployment into real sea of prototypes; and the development of specific equipment (air and water turbines, high-pressure hydraulics, linear electrical generators) and mooring systems.

Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologies

The progress in wave energy conversion in Europe during the past ten years is reviewed and current activities and initiatives in the wave energy sector at National and Union level are described. Other important activities worldwide are summarized. The technical and econ

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Wave energy in Europe: current status and perspectives

Quantifying the global wave power resource

This paper presents results from an investigation of global wave energy resources derived from analysis of wave climate predictions generated by the WAVEWATCH-III (NWW3) wind-wave model (Tolman, 2002) spanning the 10 year period from 1997 to 2006. The methodology that was followed to obtain these new results is described in detail. The spatial and temporal variations of the global wave energy resource are presented and described. Several parameters to describe and quantify the temporal variation of wave energy resources are presented and discussed. The new results are also validated through comparisons with energy estimates from buoy data and previous studies.

A global wave energy resource assessment

Variability Assessment and Forecasting of Renewables : A Review for Solar, Wind, Wave and Tidal Resources

Variability assessment and forecasting of renewables: A review for solar, wind, wave and tidal resources

Assessing the Portuguese wave-power resource

This paper presents an Atlas of the European offshore wave energy resource that is being developed within the scope of an European project. It will be mainly based on wave estimates produced by the numerical wind-wave model WAM that is in routine operation at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, UK. This model was chosen after a preliminary verification of two models again buoy data for a one-year period. Wave measurements will be used for the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. The Atlas will be produced as a user-friendly software package for MS-DOS microcomputers permitting fast retrieval of information as well as saving and printing of statistics and maps. The Atlas will include annual and seasonal statistics of significant wave height, mean and peak period, mean direction and wave power levels (global values as well as directional distributions). These data will be both presented as tables, graphs and as geographic maps.

An Atlas of the Wave-Energy Resource in Europe

The aim of this paper is to provide a general view of wave energy resource assessment. First, a review of the origin of waves and the transformation they undergo as they propagate towards the coast through waters of decreasing depth is presented. Following this, the wave and wave-energy parameters and the statistics required for resource characterization are described. The various types of wave data and their usefulness for the present purposes are summarised. A common methodology for assessment of the wave energy resource is developed. Finally, a general description of the global open ocean resource is presented.

Ocean waves: Energy resource assessment

In the last two decades the performance of numerical wind-wave models has improved considerably. Several models have been routinely producing good quality wave estimates globally since the mid-1980s. The verifications of wind-wave models have mainly focused on the evaluation of the error of the significant wave height H{sub s} estimates. However, for wave energy purposes, the main parameters to be assessed are the wave power P{sub w} and the mean (energy) period T{sub e}. Since P{sub w} is proportional to H{sub s}{sup 2}T{sub e}, its expected error is much larger than for the single-wave parameters. This paper summarizes the intercomparison of two wind-wave models against buoy data in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea to select the most suitable one for the construction of an Atlas of the wave energy resource in European waters. A full verification in the two basins of the selected model--the WAM model, implemented in the routine operation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts--was then performed against buoy and satellite altimeter data. It was found that the WAM model accuracy is very good for offshore locations in the North Atlantic; but for the Mediterranean Sea the results are much less accurate, probably duemore » to a lower quality of the input wind fields.« less

M. T. Pontes

Papers

Assessing the Portuguese wave-power resource

An Atlas of the Wave-Energy Resource in Europe

Ocean waves: Energy resource assessment

Use of numerical wind-wave models for assessment of the offshore wave energy resource