Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that one of the most energetic wave climates in the world exists off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Yet this resource has yet to be tapped for the generation of significant quantities of renewable electricity. Successful implementation of wave energy converters will require an intimate knowledge of this vast resource. Not only does the resource guide initial demonstration deployments, it is needed to inform long term planning including possible redesign of electricity transmission infrastructure to accommodate 100's of MW of ocean wave power. Most knowledge of the wave climate in this area is derived from course-resolution studies which have focused on the ocean outside the continental shelf, but wave energy converters will likely be sited close to shore. This paper describes the construction and validation of an unstructured SWAN wave model covering the continental shelf on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. This model is driven by wave and wind boundary conditions sourced from FNMOC and COAMPS models respectively. Validation to several near-shore buoys shows that the accuracy of the model is equal to that of the boundary conditions. No significant error appears to be introduced by the SWAN calculations. Presented in this paper is the average wave energy transport for the year 2010. Though still in development, this model can be used today as tool for understanding the wave climate on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.