Abstract
Following two and a half years of activity in wave energy project development in the South Pacific region, and an investment of almost one million Euros, Société de Recherche du Pacifique (SRP), based in Nouméa (New Caledonia) has acquired considerable experience in carrying out feasibility studies for wave energy implementation in this area of the world.
As it is the case for any new market, SRP has encountered a number of issues while completing island- based project feasibility studies in New Caledonia, Wallis&Futuna, Vanuatu...
Although the obstacles to wave energy implementation may vary depending on the selected location, some issues are recurrent in the small Pacific Islands. Given the availability of wave resource in the region, the extremely high cost of energy (mainly due to volatile diesel price and high transportation costs), and the difficulty to implement other alternative sources of energy (solar, wind) due to customary land ownership issues, Pacific Island Countries are likely to benefit significantly from wave energy generation and to become unforced consumers of wave energy.
This presentation will relate to the Pacific Islands energy sector; through the experience of the feasibility study undertaken in New Caledonia, it will present the positive aspects of wave energy in this area of the world, and also some criteria to be met by the Wave Energy Converters to better adapt to this market. The particulars of the Funding of projects and the customary aspects in this region will also be looked at.