Ocean_Wave_as_Source_of_Renewable_Energy

Abstract Malaysia is a country that being surrounded by water. Ocean wave has been recognised by the international community as a renewable clean energy source. Many analysis were conducted for the potential of ocean wave energy along the coastline of Malaysia from the data obtained by the Malaysia Meteorological Service (MMS) from 1985 to 2000. The Malaysian coastline has been divided into four major zones, east peninsular Malaysia, west peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah. Locations situated in the South China Sea has the most promising site for ocean wave potential, with the highest energy resource available in the months of November to February, which coincide with northeast monsoon season. The annual ocean wave potential is below 5.0 kW/m. Introduction Malaysia is one of the countries mostly surrounded by water. Geographically, Malaysia can be divided into West Malaysia and East Malaysia. West Malaysia consists of peninsular Malaysia which can be divided into east peninsular Malaysia and west peninsular Malaysia. In recent times, search for alternative and renewable sources of energy has intensified all around the world. Types of alternative and renewable sources of energy are solar energy, wind energy, ocean wave energy, geothermal energy and biomass. Based that Malaysia is mostly surrounded by water, the potential for an ocean based energy source is one of the renewable energy sources that can be developed for the purpose of energy supply. Analysis of the Data The climatology of ocean waves is based on the monthly summary of marine meteorological observations published by the Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS). The data provided by the MMS is presented on monthly charts with individual values. For this study, 16 locations were chosen based on the nearest sea grid to Malaysian coastline. Figure 1 Figure 1. Map of Malaysia with study locations. Results and Discussion Wave characteristics Wave condition in Malaysia is influenced by the northeast monsoon and the southwest monsoon wind. Higher average wind waves of 1.0 to 1.5 m occur during the northeast monsoon season from the months of November to March. Higher wind waves of 2.5 to 3.0 m are more likely to occur in the middle of the northeast monsoon period (December and January). This show that MMS data are largely derived from VOS which would avoid rough sea conditions. In the southwest monsoon season from June to September, the average wind waves are between 0.7 to 1.1 m in height. The maximum height of wind wave during this period is around 2.0 m. The months in between the two monsoon periods ( April, May and October), the height of the wind waves are around 0.7 m. The maximum height of wind wave in this period is around 2.0 m. This shows that the wind waves heights in Malaysian waters especially in the areas facing South China Sea has peak (northeast monsoon season) and valley (period in Between the two monsoon seasons). But for areas in the west peninsular Malaysia, wind waves average less than 1.0 m in height throughout the year because of it location situated between the Sumatra island and the mountain ranges of Peninsular Malaysia. The maximum wind waves of 1.5 to 2.0 m usually occur during the months in between the two monsoon seasons. Similar behaviour occurs for the swell conditions in Malaysian waters. Swell of 1.5 to 2.0 m occur during the northeast monsoon season. The maximum swell of 2.5 to 3.0 m likely to occur in the middle of the northeast monsoon period. In the southwest monsoon season, swell averages between 1.0 to 1.5 m in height occured during this period. The maximum height of swell during this period is around 2.0 to 2.5 m. The months in between the two monsoon periods, the swell height is around 1.0 to 1.5 m. The maximum height of swell in this period is around 2.0 to 2.5 m. But for areas in the west peninsular Malaysia swell average around 1.0 m in height throughout the year, with maximum swell of around 2.0 m in height. The directions of wave in Malaysia are influenced by the monsoon wind. In the northeast monsoon period, the wave direction is from the east for locations in the east peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah except for west peninsular Malaysia which is from the south. From April to May, the wave direction gradually changes from east to southwest. In the southwest monsoon period, the wave direction is from the southwest for all locations. In October, predominant wave direction is from the southwest. Wave power From the data obtained, wave power for each location was calculated. Table 1 shows the average wave power calculated from wind wave for each month from year 1985 to 2000. Table 2 shows the average wave power calculated from year 1985 to 2000. In the months of November to February, wave power of around 2.0 kW/m (wind wave) and 6.0 to 12.0 kW/m (swell) is observed in the east peninsular Malaysia. For regions in Sarawak and Sabah, the available wave power is lower than in the east peninsular Malaysia. But in the months of July to October, the available wave power in Sabah and Sarawak is higher compared to other regions in Malaysia, which have a potential of 3.0 to 5.0 kW/m (swell). In west peninsular Malaysia, the wave power available is in the region of 0.5 kW/m (wind wave) and 2.0 kW/m (swell) throughout the year. The mean wave power for locations situated in the west peninsular Malaysia is in the region of 0.5 to 2.0 kW/m. In the east peninsular Malaysia, the mean available wave power is in the region of 1.0 to 12.0 l kW/m depend on the season, with the higher wave power occur during the northeast monsoon season. In Sabah and Sarawak, the available mean wave power, is in the region of 1.0 to 8.0 kW/m. Table 1. Monthly mean wind wave power in l kW/m. Table 2. Monthly mean swell wave power in kW/m. Conclusion The wave power around the sea surrounding Malaysia has been calculated and tabulated by the data obtained from MMS. It can be concluded that the annual wave power in waters surrounding Malaysia is below 5.0 kW/m. The available wave power changes with season, with the highest occur during the northeast monsoon season and lowest in the months in between the two monsoon seasons. The present analysis is largely based on VOS, which have been shown to be less accurate. Data corrections based on recommendations presented by Gulev et al can be used in future to improve the results. Reference: Books: MMS. Monthly summary of marine meteorological observations, Malaysian Meteorological Service, Malaysia (1985-2000). Journals: Baba, M. "Wave power potential of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands". Indian Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 17, pp. 330-332 (1988). Books: Shaw, R. Wave Energy: A Design Challenge, Ellis Horwood, Chichester, pp 76 (1982). Proceedings and reports:: Gulev, S.K. "Global-scale Wave Observations from Voluntary Observation Ships: Assessment of Reliability and Potentialities for Global and Off-shore Regions Studies", i h International Workshop on Wave Hindcasting and Forcasting , Banff, Alberta, Canada, (2002).