Critical Factors Influencing Viability of Wave Energy Converters in Off-Grid Luxury Resorts and Small Utilities

Aksel Botne Sandberg, Eirik Klementsen, Gerrit Muller, Adrian De Andres and Jéromine Maillet
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Aksel Botne Sandberg: Norwegian Institute of Systems Engineering (NISE), Høyskolen i SørØst-Norge, Hasbergs vei 36, 3616 Kongsberg, Norway
Eirik Klementsen: Norwegian Institute of Systems Engineering (NISE), Høyskolen i SørØst-Norge, Hasbergs vei 36, 3616 Kongsberg, Norway
Gerrit Muller: Norwegian Institute of Systems Engineering (NISE), Høyskolen i SørØst-Norge, Hasbergs vei 36, 3616 Kongsberg, Norway
Adrian De Andres: Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JN, UK
Jéromine Maillet: CorPower Ocean AB, Brinellvägen 23, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-22

Abstract: This paper examines technical and non-technical factors that are critical to the viability of commercialization of wave energy converters in off-grid luxury resorts and small utilities. Critical factors are found by investigating Levelized Cost of Energy, and using the tools PESTEL and Porter’s five competitive forces. Identified factors are then applied on three business cases to investigate their impact on viability. The results show that one of the main challenges facing off-grid commercialization is the few wave energy converter units installed per location, negating the economy of scale that large wave energy farms count on to achieve competitive cost levels. In addition, factors like current cost of energy, available wave resources, distance from shore, infrastructure, supply chain logistics, and electricity demand are found to be deciding factors for viability. Despite these challenges, it is found that there are potentially viable off-grid business cases for commercialization of wave energy converters.

Keywords: wave energy converter; off-grid commercialization; levelized cost of energy; luxury resorts; small utilities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1274-:d:84614

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