UK case study shows wave energy lowers cost of 24/7 renewables

A new case study from Swedish wave energy developer CorPower Ocean highlights the role of wave energy in achieving the lowest-cost 24/7 clean energy in northern Scotland.

According to CorPower Ocean, wave energy consistently reduces system costs, installed capacity, and storage requirements across scenarios for 2032, 2040, and 2050.

By 2050, wave energy provides 22% of renewable installed capacity in the base scenario, enabling 24% less system-level capacity and a 20% cost reduction (€15/MWh), the company’s analysis shows.

The study utilizes the open-source modeling tool PyPSA to test cost-optimal combinations of wave energy, solar, onshore and offshore wind, battery storage, and grid interaction to power a flat 500 MW demand with 95% renewables. 

CorPower Ocean noted that up to 5% of the energy can be purchased from the grid at double the average 2021 electricity price, while excess generation can be exported at 10% of the 2021 prices.

CorPower Ocean said wave resource data for 2021 was taken from Copernicus Marine Service and validated by waverider measurements at the Billia Croo site. 

Solar and wind data were sourced from NASA MERRA through renewables.ninja. The company added that wave generation is more consistent seasonally and hourly compared to wind and solar, complementing both resources in the mix.

In the 2032 base case, adding 343 MW (9%) of wave energy reduced total installed capacity by 20% (from 4664 MW to 3823 MW), storage requirements by 40% (179 GWh to 110 GWh), and lowered the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from €99.68/MWh to €95.45/MWh, according to CorPower Ocean.

Under onshore constraints, limited to 50 MW solar and 300 MW onshore wind, wave energy covered 72% of demand in 2032, halving LCOE from €403.16/MWh to €196.39/MWh and reducing storage needs by 96%, the company added.

By 2040, wave accounted for 13% of the mix in the base case, reducing installed capacity by 20% and lowering LCOE from €81/MWh to €74/MWh. By 2050, wave’s share rose to 22%, cutting capacity needs by 24% and costs from €80/MWh to €65/MWh.

In constrained scenarios, CorPower Ocean reported a stronger cost impact: in 2040, LCOE drops from €294/MWh to €130/MWh (56% reduction), and in 2050 from €235/MWh to €95/MWh (60% reduction), with wave supplying more than 75% of electricity.

The study also tested different cost ratios between wave and offshore wind. 

CorPower Ocean said that even when wave energy was three and a half times more expensive than floating offshore wind (€217/MWh vs €62/MWh), it still entered the optimal mix with 210 MW of installed capacity. Only when wave was four times the cost was it excluded.

According to CorPower Ocean, wave energy is consistently selected in cost-optimal mixes, contributing 9-22% of supply in base scenarios and 72-78% under onshore constraints. Its inclusion cuts overcapacity, lowers storage needs, and reduces LCOE by 4-20% in base cases and by more than half in constrained ones.

The company concludes that wave energy provides a complementary generation profile to solar and wind, enabling more efficient 24/7 clean energy systems and supporting large-scale demand such as data centers or industrial facilities.

In June, the UK launched the Marine Energy Taskforce (MET), a new initiative aimed at developing a roadmap to realize the country’s marine energy potential. Supported by The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, the 12-month project will focus on accelerating wave and tidal stream energy deployment while maintaining high levels of UK supply chain content.