An Evaluation of Wave Energy Generation and Cost of Energy in the Black Sea

Abstract

The performance of several point absorber-type wave energy converters is studied by evaluating the annual energy production and the cost of energy in two locations off the Turkish coasts of the Black Sea. The added mass, hydrodynamic damping, and wave forces exerted on the floats are calculated by a 3D Boundary Element Method based on potential flow theory. The responses of the floats are evaluated in the time domain by employing a family of Runge-Kutta Methods with different orders of accuracy and the annual energy generated is calculated by taking the annual occurrence of sea states into account. The cost of energy generated by each wave energy converter is evaluated by calculating the Levelized Cost of Energy. The results show that the WECs with Berkeley Wedge-Shaped floats generate the maximum amount of energy in Sinop and Hopa. The most economical wave energy converters are those with a cone float and with a Berkeley Wedge-Shaped float in Sinop and Hopa, respectively.