Economic Assessments of Electric Energy Storage in Wave Power Integrations

Abstract:
The ocean wave energy is an extreme abundant renewable resource, however, it is also one of the most unsteady natural energy carriers, and is not sufficiently utilized in today's energy structure. The inherent fast fluctuation of ocean waves can create fast ramps in the generated power, making it a challenge for wave energy integrations or local consumptions. In this paper, economies of using different types of electric energy storage (EES) to aid the integration of wave power, including batteries, flywheels, and super capacitors, are assessed. Based on generated sea surface time-series and the established wave energy converter (WEC) model, simulations are performed to research the sizing and aging cost of the ESS, and conclusions are given for the most economic storage type in integrating wave power.