A study on ocean wave power and utilization for Indian coastal region

Indian costal region has low ocean wave flux density but it has a vast seashore area due to which the overall potential of ocean wave energy is extremely high. In addition, harnessing of ocean wave energy has minimum environmental impact. Till date only one project based on oscillating water column has been established in India. The project covers huge constructional area with high complexity. Therefore an uncomplicated technique covering a minimum space is required to harness optimum wave energy. This paper finds out the best possible method among existing Ocean Wave Energy Converter (OWEC) technologies and a direct drive permanent magnet linear generator is proposed to convert ocean wave energy into electrical energy. The aim is to trap the time-varying ocean wave in the simplest way and supply a good quality AC power for domestic appliances. A modified Parallel-Connected Pulsewidth Modulated Inverter with Current Sharing Reactors Topology is proposed to convert DC power to AC power. The simulation and experimental results for proposed modified inverter topology are presented. A constant voltage algorithm is developed to control DC-link voltage. The proposed OWEC requires lesser construction area and is simple to operate along with it being cost effective. A brief survey of Indian costal wave power is also discussed for the selection of an appropriate site in India.