Quantification of the Wave Energy Potential of the Atlantic Coast of Honduras

Abstract

The growing demand for electricity in Honduras became a critical problem in 2022, evidencing an increase of 3.05%. This situation generated difficulties in the energy supply, and an increase of 10% to 15% in the cost of electricity was projected for the next quarter of 2023. Despite the efforts in renewable energies, the wave energy potential generated by the Atlantic waves is limited due to the lack of research in Honduras. To obtain a wave energy potential, meteorological data was collected on the swell, including wave height and wave interval, taking into account other factors such as density and sea depth. For this process, A variety of available resources were used, such as web scraping programming made in Python, and the data were obtained using the online software Windfinder. These were stored in Microsoft Excel, and mathematical models such as wave energy power and wave power formula were used, which considered parameters such as wave height and wave intervals. In addition, Airy’s theory equation was applied, taking into account the depth; these models allowed calculating the wave energy potential and comparing the results. Preliminary results indicate that the wave energy generation potential varies according to the model used, with the first model, wave energy power, varying 51%, the second, wave power formula, 46%, and Airy’s theory equation. This research was done to quantify the wave energy potential in the country of Honduras, specific to the Atlantic coast on the coasts of the departments of Cortés, Atlántida, Colón, Gracias a Dios, and Islas de la Bahía over a period of 10 weeks and contribute to future research.