WCWI investigates wave energy generation and integration as a means to increase energy security on Vancouver Island.
As part of the West Coast Wave Initiative and the 2060 Project at UVic, wave energy generation and integration on Vancouver Island was investigated as a means to increase energy security on Vancouver Island. Wave energy resources are vast but are largely unexploited due, in part, to uncertainty with respect to reliability, costs and grid integration. Utilizing the PLEXOS® Integrated Energy Model software, a model was developed to assess large-scale wave energy integration on Vancouver Island. The model incorporates the current transmission grid, the existing fleet of generation stations and ten potential wave farm sites with a total generation capacity of 500 MW.
Three scenarios are investigated: Business As Usual (BAU) - current transmission grid/no wave energy; Infinite Transmission (ITW) – current grid topology with no capacity limits/500 MW of wave energy; Existing Transmission (ETW) – current grid topology with existing capacities/500 MW of wave energy. Figure 15 shows the breakdown of energy sources for the island in each scenario over a seven year period.
Wave generation reduces monthly energy dependency on the lower mainland by up to 15% if infinite transmission capacity is assumed. In the ETW scenario, the available wave power is frequently curtailed due to transmission capacity limitations on the island. As a result lower mainland demand is reduced by only 11%. Comparing the peaks in wave generation, shown in Fig. 15 (b) and (c), it is apparent that this curtailment occurs predominantly during the winter months when the BC load peaks. The current transmission grid is only able to support ~250 MW of wave energy without curtailment.
It is further demonstrated that wave integration leads to a periodic and predictable reduction in the monthly energy demand. In hydro-dominated grids, such as BC’s, reservoir levels are managed on monthly and yearly basis and this periodic trend may be a useful feature of wave energy for this system.
