Sri Lankan wave energy resource assessment and characterisation based on IEC standards

Abstract Historically, wave energy resource assessments do not always provide all of the information required by wave energy developers. An appropriate quality dataset, produced using internationally recommended standards is required to assess the wave energy capture potentials in deployment projects of wave energy converters. The particular requirement can be achieved by following the International Electro-technical Committee Technical Specification (IEC TS 62600–101:2015) which is specifically designed for the exploitation of wave energy. In this study, a resource assessment study based on Sri Lankan wave energy has analysed according to IEC TS 62600–101:2015 Class 1 standards. The main outputs are presented with appropriate illustrations of regional information which can access through a geo-referenced digital database. A set of study points clarify that the Sri Lankan wave resource has the key features of narrow bandwidth and directionality of wave power. The study shows that Sri Lanka has a potentially viable wave energy resource, especially along the south coast, although its characteristics differ from the high power density areas like North Atlantic Ocean wave resource. The paper also provides a brief review of IEC TS 62600–101:2015 methodology and discusses the strengths and weaknesses which could be beneficial for the prospective researchers.