Offshore wind farms run between 90% – 100% of their rated power less than 5% of the time; for the remaining 95% of the time, the substation, transformer and electrical grid are under-utilized and could potentially transfer power generated by ocean waves.
A 200MW offshore windfarm could thus easily accommodate a 20MW Exowave plant. A design study for a wind farm in northern UK provides the following project-investment calculation*:
- > 20% IRR
- EUR 24 million CAPEX
- 70 GWh/y green electricity
- 55.000 tons/y avoided CO2
Offshore windfarms represent an excellent application for ExoWave:
- Typical water depth of 10-40 m is ideal
- Generally, wind farm locations benefit from good wave-power conditions
- Ocean power is less intermittent and more predictable than wind power
- Good synergy through available electrical infrastructure
- Possibility to tap into existing feed-in tariffs
- Cumulated Exowave market segment potential of EUR 5 billion by 2030
(*) Actual calculations contingent on detailed design and project specifics