Feasibility Study of Renewable Energy System for an Island in Terengganu

Malaysia has started encouraging renewable energy technology in 7th Malaysia Plan. However, inadequate power distribution in the island makes diesel generator important power sources which cause pollution. Some initiatives have been made by installing wind turbine and solar panel to reduce the dependency on generator. The hybrid PV/wind system is a good combination as solar radiation is high during the Southeast Monsoon, and strong wind during the Northeast Monsoon. Since the wind speed and wave height has a strong tie, during windy season, the wave height can go up to two meters. However, the feasibility of wave energy as power supply hasn't been explored. This paper focuses on the feasibility of using wave energy system to supply electricity to an island using HOMER. The obtained results show that a hybrid wave energy system has lower potential with cost of electricity (COE) is RM 1.303/kWh compared to the most optimal system, hybrid PV-battery generator, with COE is RM 1.262/kWh. (paper)