Exciting New Marine Energy Resource Assessment & Atlas For New Zealand Published By EECA and Electricity Commission. MSL helps answer the critical development questions: where is the resource, the extrema, the frequency and what wave/ current profile for different devcies?
Planners and developers seeking to understand the potential for marine energy development around New Zealand, have a new resource providing a comprehensive analysis of wave energy around the coast, as well as an in-depth analysis of selected wave and tidal hotspots.
Maps and data graphically illustrate New Zealand’s marine energy potential, and it is notable that nearly the entire west coast has, by international standards, a viable wave resource. What’s more, generally being within 5 to 15 km of the shore, the wave resource is reasonably accessible for development. Whilst the east coast experiences large wave events, lower average wave energy flux than the west coast mean it will be less viable for development.
In modeling the theoretical power outputs of two types of wave devices and providing a detailed resource overview, the report aims to help developers and planners to marry what a location offers with the available devices, or direct device design to meet the New Zealand opportunities. Devices must be built or selected based on location specific marine energy profiles. Different devices need different ranges of wave heights, wave lengths and orbital velocities for optimal power generation. They will also require different wave conditions to enable servicing. Some devices designed for European conditions, for instance, may not be suited to the NZ west coast environment.
New Zealand also benefits from high energy tidal flows. The map of Cook Strait tidal hotspots vividly illustrates that energetic locations are conveniently located for the Wellington region on the North Island side of the Strait. The report presents a case study of potential developments in the Wellington coastal marine area.
More on The Report
This detailed assessment of New Zealand’s marine energy potential was undertaken by MetOcean Solutions Ltd (MSL) and Power Projects Ltd (PPL) on behalf of the Electricity Commission, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and Greater Wellington Regional Council. The report summarizes current technology developments, the mid-term outlook for project developments in New Zealand and an assessment of national, regional and some site-specific wave and tidal/ocean current resources.
For a copy of the report see:
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/eeca-library/renewable-energy/marine/report/marine-energy-in-nz-jun-08.pdf
More on MetOcean Solutions
MetOcean Solutions Ltd (MSL) is a New Zealand based oceanographic consultancy with extensive numerical modeling capability deployed on projects around the world. See www.metocean.co.nz for more details.
MSL and PPL have formed an alliance to undertake integrated assessments of the marine energy environment, technology developments, regulatory and policy issues, resource assessments and opportunity evaluations. The capabilities used in this review are deployable to any country with the opportunity to develop their marine energy resources for future electricity generation requirements.