Ocean energy generation for a remote control

For a remote island country like the Maldives, there are two main reasons for the need for a renewable source of energy. One is the increasing oil prices and the other is to overcome the environmental problems that arise from the burning of fossil fuels. Taking into account the climate of the country, the renewable energy resource available that has the highest potential for producing the necessary electricity was found to be wave energy and ocean thermal energy. These two resources are almost completely environmentally friendly. The thesis examines the possibilities of these two resources to determine the most suitable system for generating power to supply to the remote islands. Out of the many existing wave energy converters, the most promising ones have been analysed to determine the power that can be produced with the available climatic conditions. Similarly, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) have been studied and the different systems are analysed. Factors such as cost and the devices’ environmental impact are also taken into account. The thesis concludes that wave energy is more commercially advanced than ocean thermal energy. However, wave energy conversion devices are not suitable, not because the devices themselves are improperly designed, but rather because of the wave climate in the Maldives. Therefore, the best possibility is the use of OTEC systems.