Statistical analysis of the baltic sea wave height data for evaluating energy potential

Abstract

After the success of hydro, wind and solar energetics searching for the new renewable energy sources began and so oceans and seas have been rediscovered. In our country’s conditions, in the Baltic Sea, where periodic tides are inexistent and underwater currents are not powerful, the most important energy can be concentrated into waves. It is already clear that waves carry large amounts of energy and many countries are making efforts to evaluate these resources and to use them to produce electricity. The objective of this article is to assess whether the available data of the Baltic Sea monitoring are sufficient enough for the calculations of wave energy resources by using statistical analysis. Wave height and wind speed are the most important data in monitoring that is required for evaluation of these resources. Still, this investigation also requires a long record, reaching 30 years and more in length. Though wave height observations are usually short term, Klaip da and Nida gauging stations have long term records of wind speed. First wave height observation data reliability was evaluated in the classical analysis in order to find coherence between hydrological characteristic (wave height) and meteorological characteristic (wind speed). The correlation between wind speed and wave height was verified with the statistical program. Clear correlations between Klaip da and Nida gauging stations data can be easily used for the extension of wave height time series. When reliability of the data is verified, analogical regression analysis can be used for other gauging stations with short record of wave height data. Thus in this manner all wave height time series data can be prepared for the evaluation of sea wave energy potential.