Techno-economic performance of the Pelamis P1 and Wavestar at different ratings and various locations in Europe

OʼConnor, Michael; Lewis, Tony; Dalton, Gordon

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.08.009

Cited by 84 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…A comparison of several devices has been carried out, using different metrics taken from Babarit [14] as a basis. These indicators are useful for low TRL technologies when LCOE requires many assumptions to be made.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Related Metrics for a Wave Energy Converters Feasibility Assessment

et al. 2016

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Abstract:When designing "multi-MW arrays" of Wave Energy Converters (WECs), having a low number of converters with high individual power ratings can be beneficial as the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs may be reduced. However, having converters of small dimensions or small power ratings could also be beneficial, as suggested by previous works, due to a reduction in material costs as compared to power production, and the use of small, inexpensive vessels. In this work, a case study investigating the optimum size of WEC for a 20 MW array is performed. Analysis is carried out based on the CorPower Ocean technology. In this case study, firstly a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) model is created. This model incorporates the latest Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) estimates for CorPower Ocean's 250 kW prototype. Using this techno-economic model, several sizes/ratings of WEC are tested for use in a 20 MW array. Operational Expenditure (OPEX) is calculated using two different calculation approaches in order to check its influence on final indicators. OPEX is firstly calculated as a percentage of CAPEX, as shown in previous works, and secondly using a failure-repair model, taking into account individual failures of WECs in the array. Size/rating analysis is carried out for several European locations in order to establish any dependence between site location and optimal WEC size/rating. Several metrics for techno-economic assessment of marine energy converters, other than LCOE, are compared in this work. A comparison of several devices with each these metrics is performed within this study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Related Metrics for a Wave Energy Converters Feasibility Assessment

et al. 2016

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“…Literature has identified that up-scaling a device has cost reduction potential; therefore, the effect of up-scaling must be the focus of a case study in order to make comparisons against other design changes [5]. A previous study provided suitable scaled cost and performance data for various scaled variants of the Pelamis P1 [7]. This case study investigates the LCOE and development risk of the standard 750 kW Pelamis P1, a half-size 375 kW Pelamis P1, and a double-size 1500 kW Pelamis P1.…”

Section: Case Studies Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many techno-economic analyses have been carried out to assess the feasibility of marine energy. O'Connor et al conducted a study to investigate the effect of differing wave energy resources at different geographical locations and the impact this has on LCOE [7]. De Andrés et al [8] conducted a study investigating the effect of differing development strategies on LCOE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk vs. Reward: A Methodology to Assess Investment in Marine Energy

2016

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Abstract:The majority of WEC (wave energy converter) projects are expensive and pose a large risk to a developer. Currently no developers have been successful in commercialising a WEC. So far, many wave energy feasibility studies have only considered the LCOE (levelised cost of electricity), assessing investment in marine energy technologies from a purely financial point of view. No previous studies have, however, explicitly accounted for development risk as well as the LCOE to determine the feasibility of a project. This paper proposes a new methodology that can be used to account for both risk and the LCOE to give a clearer picture of the feasibility of a WEC development. By combining the LCOE and risk score for a particular development, the "value for risk" can be calculated, presented here as the "RR ratio" ("Risk/Reward ratio"). A number of case studies were chosen to test the model, investigating the RR ratio for a number of different WEC technologies and ranking them to suggest an optimal development path for the industry. Results showed that projects that combine many innovative technologies provide the best "value for risk". These devices overall had the highest risk, suggesting that multiple developers are likely required to collaborate in order to reduce the risk down to acceptable levels for each.

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“…Applications in other research fields where flow-induced vibrations can be turned into an advantage are e.g. ocean current-driven energy harvesting devices [52,181,190].…”

Section: Research Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…for the optimization of artificial respirators [112,269]. In civil engineering, offshore applications such as flow-induced vibrations of offshore risers [49,75,108,289] and ocean current-driven or wave energy converters [52,181,190] have been considered. The study of wind-induced vibrations finally was for a long time focussed on flutter of long suspension bridges [155,190,267] but is also used to investigate flexible membrane structures in wind flows [27,103,167,284,286] and for aeroelastic studies of wind turbine rotors [37,98].…”

Section: Numerical Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%