Energy production from existing and scaled wave energy converters in the South-Western Black Sea

The main goal of this study is to determine which of the 15 existing WECs (WaveDragon, Pelamis, AquaBuoy, Oyster, Oyster 2, WaveStar, Bottom-fixed Heave Buoy Array, SSG, AWS, Langlee, Oceantec, OE Buoy, Pontoon, Seabased AB and WaveBob) has a higher capacity factor and applicability, more suitable at which depths and provides a higher energy yield compared to the other evaluated devices in the high energy potential regions of the Black Sea. For this purpose, the probability of waves occurring at different wave heights and different period intervals was determined at each station, and the scatter tables were produced. The wave energy output that can be obtained by correlating the power matrices of the WECs with the scatter tables were calculated. The capacity factor, efficiency index, and capture width as the indicators of the applicability of the WECs at the considered stations were calculated and compared for different WECs. In addition, due to the design principles of the existing WECs, they are scaled to be more compatible with present wave conditions. Froude scaling law was taken into consideration when resizing the devices, and all devices were downsized from 1.0 to 0.1 ten times. Then, the scaling factor with the highest capacity factor was determined and compared with the performance of the original device. After all, SSG, WaveDragon, Oyster, Oceantec, and Pontoon in terms of energy output and Oyster and Oceantec in terms of capacity factor utilization, offer higher values compared to the other considered WECs. As a result, when the size of the WECs decreased, the capacity factors increased and, it has been determined that Oyster and Oceantec machines stand out as the most suitable devices.