Wave energy resource

Wave energy refers to kinetic energy and potential energy possessed in the wave on the surface of ocean. The amount of wave energy is direct proportion to the square of wave height, movement circle of wave and the contact wave width. Wave energy is one of the unstable energy in the ocean energy.

The billow attacked by the typhoon, its power density even can amount to thousands of kW for per meter of contact wave. But in the North Sea of Europe which abounds in wave energy, its annual average wave power is only limited to 20-40 kW/m. In most coastal area of China, its annual average wave power density hits 2-7 kW/m.

It is theoretically estimated that the potential of wave energy is in the scale of 10⁹ kW in the world. Estimation shows that the annual average power for wave energy is 1.3 x 10⁷kW in theory in coastal area of China, according to information from China coastal ocean survey stations. But the actual coastal wave power may be larger than this value, due to the reason that part of the survey sites for the survey stations locate in the inner bay or the position with lower wave. Wave energy abounds in the coastal area in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.