Wave power for La Isla Bonita

The island of La Palma (Spain), dubbed La Isla Bonita for its beauty, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Atlantic Ocean. The island’s authorities are aiming for energy self-sufficiency based on wave energy and other renewables. In this research its wave resource is investigated using a 44-years hindcast dataset obtained through numerical modelling and validated with wave buoy records. First, its distribution around La Palma is studied. Significant variations are found, with the largest resource occurring off the north and northwest coasts; the northwest presents operational advantages (proximity to a port). Second, the seasonal variations in this area are studied. Wave energy is provided essentially by powerful NNW-NW swells in winter and autumn, by less energetic NNE-N waves in summer and spring. Finally, the resource is characterised in terms of sea states; it is found that the bulk of the energy is provided by waves between 9.5 s and 13.5 s of energy period and 1.5 m and 3.5 m of significant wave height, so the selection of the Wave Energy Converters to be installed should guarantee maximum efficiency in these ranges.

[1]  G. Iglesias,et al.  Wave energy resource in the Estaca de Bares area (Spain) , 2010 .

[2]  A. Clément,et al.  Wave energy in Europe: current status and perspectives , 2002 .

[3]  F. Bretherton,et al.  Wavetrains in inhomogeneous moving media , 1968, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[4]  C. Guedes Soares,et al.  Evaluation of the wave conditions in Madeira Archipelago with spectral models , 2008 .

[5]  M. Leijon,et al.  Wave climate off the Swedish west coast , 2009 .

[6]  Robert G. Dean,et al.  Water wave mechanics for engineers and scientists , 1983 .

[7]  Joao Cruz,et al.  Ocean Wave Energy , 2008 .

[8]  Brian Vad Mathiesen,et al.  Energy system analysis of 100% renewable energy systems-The case of Denmark in years 2030 and 2050 , 2009 .

[9]  Leo H. Holthuijsen,et al.  Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters , 2007 .

[10]  Gregorio Iglesias,et al.  Offshore and inshore wave energy assessment: Asturias (N Spain) , 2010 .

[11]  M. Donelan,et al.  Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves , 1994 .

[12]  C. Guedes Soares,et al.  Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Areas of Europe , 2008 .

[13]  António F.O. Falcão,et al.  Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologies , 2010 .

[14]  N. Booij,et al.  Wave hindcasting off the coast of Portugal , 2000 .

[15]  James S. Wallace,et al.  Electricity generation from wave power in Canada , 2009 .

[16]  Gregorio Iglesias,et al.  Wave energy potential along the Death Coast (Spain) , 2009 .

[17]  C. Guedes Soares,et al.  44-year wave hindcast for the North East Atlantic European coast , 2008 .

[18]  César Vidal Pascual.  Análisis de la energía del oleaje en las costas españolas , 1986 .

[19]  Gregorio Iglesias,et al.  Wave energy potential in Galicia (NW Spain) , 2009 .

[20]  C. Guedes Soares,et al.  Numerical modelling to estimate the spatial distribution of the wave energy in the Portuguese nearshore , 2009 .

[21]  M. T. Pontes,et al.  A Nearshore Wave Energy Atlas for Portugal , 2005 .

[22]  A. Cornett.  A GLOBAL WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE ASSESSMENT , 2008 .

[23]  H. Storch,et al.  A Spectral Nudging Technique for Dynamical Downscaling Purposes , 2000 .

[24]  Bernard Multon,et al.  Simulation of electricity supply of an Atlantic island by offshore wind turbines and wave energy converters associated with a medium scale local energy storage , 2006 .

[25]  Francesco Fusco,et al.  Variability reduction through optimal combination of wind/wave resources – An Irish case study , 2010 .

[26]  M. T. Pontes,et al.  Assessing the Portuguese wave-power resource , 1992 .

[27]  R. Reynolds,et al.  The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project , 1996, Renewable Energy.

[28]  N. Booij,et al.  A third-generation wave model for coastal regions-1 , 1999 .

[29]  Henrik Lund,et al.  Large-scale integration of optimal combinations of PV, wind and wave power into the electricity supply , 2006 .