Wave Energy Assessment in Dumaran Island, Palawan, Philippines

Wave energy harvesting, if viable, is a potential energy resource for remote islands like Dumaran Island, Philippines. However, absence of high-resolution wave energy resource information in Dumaran waters hinders the development of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) to overcome current unsustainable means of supplying power, prolonging energy insecurity among its locals.  The focus of this study is to assess wave energy densities for Dumaran Island using high-resolution and validated wave data for the selected sites in Sulu Sea within 100 km radius from the island by using statistical analysis. This was achieved by generating 3-hourly hindcast wave data for 40-year study period (1978 – 2018) in 6 selected sites, using MetOcean Solutions Ltd WW3 Tolman Chalikov (MSLWW3TC) numerical wave model. The wave model was then validated with MIKE 21 Spectral Wave Model FM (MIKE21SW), which generated 3-hourly wave energy data at 14 sites for 5-year study period. Subsequently, wave energy flux time-series was computed and statistically analysed. The validated wave model resulted in low RMSE and high CC results, which indicate good model performance. The study area has low wave energy content, with the average wave energy range less than 4.5 kW/m. High but unstable wave energy was observed during Northeast Monsoon across all sites, and reduction of wave energy near coastal areas due to sheltering effect of Palawan and offshore islands. The hotspot for wave energy is found in the northeast and southeast of Dumaran deep offshore waters, with average annual wave energy of 4.43 kW/m. As mean wave energy at the site is insufficient and grid connection is absent WEC implementation in Dumaran waters is not viable.