Cost analysis of the UGEN
The world energy consumption is estimated to increase considerably over the next decades. In the dynamic evolution of the renewable energy sector, a wave energy industry is emerging. Although wave energy technologies are still relatively immature, interest from the governments and industry is steadi...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/100588 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/100588 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Ocean wave power UGEN WEC (Wave Energy Converter) OWC (Oscillating Water Column) LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy) CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) OPEX (Operational Expenditures) Energia de les onades Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies |
| Sumario: | The world energy consumption is estimated to increase considerably over the next decades. In the dynamic evolution of the renewable energy sector, a wave energy industry is emerging. Although wave energy technologies are still relatively immature, interest from the governments and industry is steadily increasing. The UGEN device is a wave energy converter developed by Instituto Superior Técnico with the support of the R&D-based company WavEC Offshore Renewables. A scaled prototype that has been tested in the laboratory and the numerical simulations performed with standard wave-to-wire models have proven the capability of the device to generate electricity and its potential to become economically viable. The aim of this master thesis is to carry out a techno-economic analysis study of the UGEN in order to further assess the economic viability of this technology. The Master thesis has concluded that the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of the UGEN has been found to be 59.01 c€/kWh =590.1 €/MWh. Compared to other renewable sources the UGEN still requires of further developments and optimizations in order to achieve the competitiveness of the market. The opportunities for cost reductions that have been analysed may lead to a significant cost decrease although further studies will be required to evaluate the final cost reduction. |
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