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Canada’s Potential for Ocean Wave Energy
Because of Canada’s large sea coast, the potential for ocean wave energy is very large. It is estimated that wave power along Canada’s west coast totals roughly 37 GigaWatts (billions of Watts). This is about 55% of the total Canadian electricity consumption. On the east coast the total is about 146.5 GigaWatts, or over twice the Canadian demand. These estimates are assuming waves in deep water, 1000m, and are taken from a 2006 report by the Canadian Hydraulics Centre (CHC)2. Because of environmental and socio-economic factors, and loses associated with power conversion and distribution, not all the wave power can be extracted as usable power, but clearly the potential of wave energy is very large.
The maps below are taken from the same 2006 CHC report and show wave power at various sites along the west and east coast respectively. The values are annual mean wave power, given in kilowatts (kW) per meter. The meter is measured perpendicular to the wave propagation direction. So typically the annual mean wave power is from 1000 kW to 6000 kW for a 100 m length of coastline. These values show strong seasonal variations. Off the east coast the mean wave power in winter (December to February) is roughly 4 or 5 times larger than in summer (June to August). On the west coast the mean wave power in winter is about 6 or 7 times greater than in summer. This winter high in wave power is useful since for most of Canada the electricity load peaks in the winter months. Also ocean wave power is more predictable than other renewable sources, like wind and solar, making ocean waves a more reliable, potential source of electric power.
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