Sea Wave Energy Powered Microgrid for Remote Islands and Rural Coasts

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Wave energy is a large and steady source of energy compared to intermittent sources like solar or wind. Wave energy technology is, however, at its infancy and has not been commercialized at large scale due to the high Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) caused by the maintenance, long-distance power transmission and low conversion efficiency of the offshore WECs. Instead of addressing wave energy issues at farm level, this project aims to develop a resilient and highly efficient on-shore wave-powered microgrid. The project's technology will provide electricity for the local residents in rural coastal areas and remote islands in Thailand. Other SE Asian countries with limited or no access to grid, but with easy access to waves, can also benefit from the project. In particular, we will work on the wave energy converters (WECs) developed by EcoWavePower Ltd (EWP) which has been operating the only grid-connected wave energy floaters array in the world, operational in accordance with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) since 2016 in Gibraltar. The WECs of EWP have many competitive advantages regarding cost-efficiency, insurability, reliability and environmental friendliness, as it does not create a new presence on the ocean floor. The consortia will develop novel control systems and power electronics for onshore WECs to significantly improve their overall performance and reduce the LCOE to that of solar. In our solution, the maintenance cost is minimal due to autonomous control, easy access, and remote monitoring functionality. Moreover, the wave power station does not require too much space for building up in the limited land area in islands and does not need long-distance power transmission since the wave-powered microgrid will be based close to the local community and designed based on their particular needs. The wave-powered microgrid is easily scalable and as a case study it will be developed with affordable capital investment backed by the local Thai government and existing public-private partnership in Thailand.