A VERY SIMPLE INDEX TO DETERMINE DESIGN PARAMETERS OF WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER FOR WAVE FARM COST OPTIMIZATION

Expansion of the deployment site of wave power generation plant to lower wave energy sites is a key for the market size expansion, which contributes the reduction of the cost of electricity However, it is not easy to take place from the economical view point since the revenue is limited by the low wave energy Also, since current prototypes are designed for very energetic seas, they are too large for milder conditions. In order to improve the economic feasibility design parameters of wave energy converter (WEC) have to be adjusted to the existing wave condition at the site. However, no method exists for this purpose. A new index to determine parameters of WEC for having better economic feasibility in wave farm is introduced in this work, so that the designer can see the relative superiority among parameter combinations without conducting complex economic feasibility studies. The index value was examined through an economic feasibility study of hypothetical wave farm project at Japan and found that it reasonably indicates the level of cost of electricity.