Wave energy is a rich and highly accessible renewable energy resource, that has largely been underdeveloped. Studies from the sector have tried to show the potential of benefits wave energy in ”simple cases” or via small hybrid systems, the large scale incorporation of wave energy has not yet been fully investigated. Our approach uses a fully dynamic climate driven energy system model, which has undergone modifications to include wave energy converters and their associated dependencies. This study explores the system dynamics and important elements that will be used for large scale wave energy integration; in a fully coupled European Energy System. We explore the cost pathways of different wave energy converters, the impact of climate data, and the impact of transmission capacity expansion under cost-optimal configurations of a multirenewable European power system. From this preliminary approach we aim to provide the boundary conditions, and assumptions that will govern the integration of wave energy into the European Energy System up to 2050.

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Multi-renewable energy systems, which must consider emerging technologies that exploit other available renewable energy resources, have the potential to reduce the variability of current mature renewable technologies such as solar and wind, increase power availability, diversify the electricity supply, and ultimately accelerate the substitution of fossil fuels. Ocean energy technologies can represent an important part of these multi-renewable generation low-carbon energy systems, given their vast and yet untapped source of renewable energy medium. They are increasingly being perceived as an important piece of future energy systems, given they are characterized by stable generation profiles, predictability, and high energy density. Among the different ocean energy technologies, wave energy shows strong potential to support carbon reduction targets and meet expected increases in electricity demand. It is considered one of the most dense, predictable, and persistent energy sources, with multiple regions exposed to the wave energy resource.
This researched performed an exploratory investigation of the impacts and interactions of wave energy in a wider context under future cost-optimal and multi-renewable configurations of the European transmission network. This was achieved, first, by expanding the renewable energy capabilities of the existing open-source PyPSA-Eur, energy system model and dataset of the European power system at the transmission level covering the full ENTSO-E area, to include the wave energy resource. And second, by simulating a set of future, cost-optimal, and multi-renewable European power systems at 2030, 2040, and 2050 horizons employing a greenfield optimization approach and considering cost-reduction potentials of wave energy and other generating technologies.