Abstract
New software has been developed by Ocean Power Delivery to process data from directional Waverider buoys. The software improves on existing packages by providing robust quality checking of the input time series, user definable options for spectral analysis and several advanced methods of directional analysis. Significant differences in parameters important to Wave Energy Converter (WEC) performance were noted when compared to the conventional processing. If not addressed, these differences can lead to inaccuracies when calculating WEC performance.
The use of satellite altimeter data for long term resource prediction is also discussed. A new algorithm for estimating the wave period from altimeter data has been developed jointly by Ocean Power Delivery and the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS). The algorithm is a significant improvement on previous models which were unable to properly reproduce the joint distribution of wave height and period, a necessity when estimating device response. The new algorithm enables mean monthly and annual Pelamis power output to be calculated to a high accuracy at any location in the world.