This analysis demonstrates that wave power is well suited to serve the needs of a coastal community throughout the year and throughout the day. The wave energy resource in a location such as the Gulf of Alaska and energy demand in Northern communities are both winter peaking.
We generate a sample of yearly energy demand for a representative Pacific Northern coastal community using the hourly electricity operating data for Tacoma Department of Public Utilities Light Division, or Tacoma Power (“U.S. Energy Information Administration” 2019). The demand for power from a Pacific Northerstern utility such as Tacoma power exhibits similar seasonal and hourly patterns as energy demand in Alaskan villages Devine (2004).1
The plot below shows the average hourly demand for electricity. The demand for a representative community is constructed as the 2018 electricity demand for TPWR scaled to have the average power use of 1000 megawatt. This represents a community with a population of about 600, such as Yakutat.
Source: Demand for Tacoma Department of Public Utilities Light Division Hourly https://www.eia.gov/opendata/qb.php?category=2122628&sdid=EBA.TPWR-ALL.D.H| Mean | Standard Deviation | |
|---|---|---|
| Wave | 2.006966 | 1.208351 |
| Wind | 6.427868 | 3.717028 |
The standard deviation of wind speed is over 3 times higher than that of wave height. Note that wave power is proportional to wave height squared, and wind power is proportional to wind speed cubed(https://www.windpowerengineering.com/construction/calculate-wind-power-output/). Thus, power generated by wind turbines is substantially more variable than wave power.
Devine, M. 2004. “The Alaska Village Electric Load Calculator the Alaska Village Electric Load Calculator,” no. October. doi:10.2172/15011687.
“U.S. Energy Information Administration.” 2019. Accessed July 22. https://www.eia.gov/opendata/.
The electricity operating data for large PNW utilities, such as the largest utility PSE, exhibit similar seasonal and daily patterns as Tacoma Power.↩