Int. J. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Vol. X, No.

Y, XXXX

Ocean Wave Energy in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Analysis of

Resources and Characteristics of Utilization Using Floating Buoy
WEC

Budi Azhari and Hisyam

Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract: (ABS)
Indonesia is a country with quite large ocean wave energy resource. This
energy could be converted to electrical energy using floating buoy wave
energy converter (WEC) with linear generator. In this paper, potential
utilization of wave energy in south coast Yogyakarta, Indonesia using
floating buoy WEC is discussed. First, the wave energy potential here is
observed. Then the characteristics of its utilization to fulfill the electricity
need of low-economy households are analyzed. The results show that the
average wave’s mechanical energy and power are 4,473.3 J/m2 and
15,177.2 W/mcl for average wave height condition, and 6,841.5 J/m2 and
43,360.3 W/mcl for maximum wave height condition. To fulfill the
electricity need of the people, the required WEC unit is inversely
proportional to the capacity of single WEC. Furthermore, the buoy
dimension and the required input power are directly proportional to
capacity of single WEC, but inversely proportional to conversion
efficiency.
Keywords:
Floating buoy, wave energy, WEC.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Azhari Budi, Hisyam
(2006) ‘Ocean Wave Energy in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Analysis of
Resources and Characteristics of Utilization Using Floating Buoy WEC’,
Int. J. Sustainable Development, Vol. X, No. Y4, pp.000–000.
Biographical notes: -

1. Introduction
As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia has many resources in its ocean
that could be exploited. One of them is ocean energy. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources has found that the ocean energy there is quite large. This energy, could be utilized
to fulfill the increasing demand of electricity, especially when the economic growth of
Indonesia is quite promising. According to the data of the ministry, about 6 GW electricity
could be harnessed from the ocean. Even though, the utilization so far is still less than 0.5 MW.
In 2014, the national electrification ratio was still 81% [1]. The government want the ratio
to become 100% in 2020 [2]. According to the data from the Agency for the Assessment and
Application of Technology (BPPT), the increase rate of electricity consumption in Indonesia
is about 6.2% per year during 2000-2012 [3], as shown in Figure 1. The utilization of ocean
energy for power generation could become one solution for pushing up this ratio.
The ocean energy utilization also increases the penetration of renewable energy. More
contribution renewable energy could help reducing carbon emission released by fossil sources.
In 2014, 85% energy for generating electrical energy were still supplied from fossil energy

Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

resources [4]. It contributed to 201 million tonnes of carbon emission released in 2015 [5].
Furthermore, the average grid emission factor in 2015 was 0.867 kg CO2/kWh. This amount is
predicted rising up to 0.934 kg CO2/kWh in 2017 [5]. One way to overcome it is by increasing
the penetration of renewable energy in all sectors, including in power generation.

Figure 1. Annual electrical supply in Indonesia (data and prediction).

There are at least two kinds of ocean energy that could be utilized in Indonesia: deep ocean
stream and ocean wave energy. In this paper, the latest energy would be discussed. Compared
with other renewable sources such as wind and solar, wave resource is more predictable [6].
For developing the utilization of ocean wave energy, important step that should be
undergone is mapping the potential wave energy. The potential is different among different
locations. Even though, previous researchers found that several locations store relatively large
energy, such as southern coast of Java, western ocean of Sumatera, and Arafura Sea. The wave
height in these places, could reach up to 2.5 meters [7].
To convert this energy to electricity, linear generator is getting popular [8], with floating
buoy or point absorber as the mechanical energy capturer. This generator convert directly linear
motion, as shown in Figure 2. In this case, the generator is moved by linear motion of the wave.
Compared to rotational generator, this mechanism has several advantages, such as robust
structure, higher efficiency, and longer lifetime compared to the rotary generator [9].
This paper would discuss about the potential utilization of wave energy in south coast of
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The wave energy would be converted to fulfill the electricity need of
low-economy households around it. For the conversion, wave energy converter (WEC) with
linear generator and floating buoy is used. After assessing the energy potential, the need of
converter unit and the characteristic of its utilization using such WEC would also be analyzed.

Figure 2. Linear PM generator design.

Translator

PM Moving direction

Stator
Stator coil
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

2. Material and Methods

A. Wave Energy Assessment in South Coast of Yogyakarta
For assessing the potential energy of the wave, overall wave height data in the desired
location should be collected. Using several equations, the potential energy could then be
obtained. Furthermore, the mechanical power of the wave could also be known. This
mechanical power then serves as the input power to the WEC.
First, several parameters of the wave were calculated based on the average wave height
data. To obtain their values, several equations would be used, as shown below,
H
h , (1)
2
T  3.55. H , (2)
2 .h 2
v(t )  cos( .t ) (3)
T T
v max  .H . (4)
v rms  
2 2T
H is significant wave height (m), h is amplitude of the wave, T is wave period (s), vmax is
maximum speed, and vrms is root-mean-square of the wave’s vertical speed (m/s). It was
assumed that the height and vertical speed of the wave would form sinusoidal graph.
Then the equation to calculate the mechanical energy is [10],
1
E  . .g.h 2 . (5)
2
E is the mechanical energy per area (J/m2), ρ is the density of sea water (kg/m3), and g is the
earth’s gravitation acceleration (m/s2). Meanwhile the mechanical power of the wave is,
.g 2 .H 2 .T
Pmcl  , (6)
32
where Pmcl is power per meter crest length (W/mcl). The mechanical power of the wave or
mechanical power that could be converted by the WEC was then used to determine the
dimension certain parts of the WEC.

B. Low-economy Households in Coastal Area of Yogyakarta

Data of the low-economy households in all provinces in Indonesia was provided by the
Secretariat of State of Indonesia in 2008 [11]. In this research, the data would be used as the
number of households that need electricity supply. It was assumed that the given number of
the low-economy households is still same. It was also assumed that the electrical capacity of
each household is 450 VA. To ease the calculation, it was also assumed that the electrical
power requirement for each household is 450 W.

C. General Design of Wave Energy Converter (WEC)

The WEC that would be applied has pico-scale power level, with power capacity ranges
between 1 kW to 5 kW. It consists of two main parts: floating buoy to capture the mechanical
energy of the wave, and linear generator, which was used to convert the mechanical energy to
electrical energy. The linear generator consists of translator as the moving part, and stator, in
which the electrical energy is extracted.
Figure 3 shows the general design of the WEC. From the figure, A is the floating buoy, B
is the slider which connect the buoy to the translator, C is the translator, D is the Stator, and E
is the supporting components.
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Figure 3. General design of proposed WEC.

From the linear generator side, the output power is affected by the induced voltage and
wire electrical parameters -which determine the impedance, thus determine the current-. The
induced voltage could be calculated using equation below [12],
M sWs N ph Bm v
E ph  , (7)
2
where Ms, Ws, Nph, Bm are geometrical parameter of the generator. Meanwhile, v is the
translation speed. In this case, the translation speed of the generator was assumed equal to the
vertical speed of the wave. As long as this condition occurs, the generator could produce output
power as desired. Thus, the main focus in this paper is the floating buoy dimension. The
generator is assumed able to produce output power according to its own power specification.
The power input that could be captured by the floating buoy was analysed. This value is
determined by the dimension of the buoy, as shown in equation below [13].
Pin  Pmcl .d b , (8)
where Pin is input power of the buoy (W), Pmcl is wave mechanical power per crest length
(W/mcl), and db is diameter of the buoy (m). The output of the generator and the input power
of the buoy is connected by the conversion efficiency, which is shown by equation below,
Pout  Pin .c , (9)
where ηc is the conversion efficiency. This efficiency includes both mechanical efficiency and
electrical efficiency. It could be calculated using the following equation,
Pout Pout
c   , (10)
Pin Pout  Pelec _ loss  Pmech_ loss
where Pelec_loss and Pmech_loss are electrical and mechanical loss respectively. Mechanical loss
comes from air friction and cogging force or detent force to the translator.

D. Calculating the Number of the WEC

From the number of low-economy households, the need of electricity could be calculated
using equation below,
Ptot  450..n , (11)
where Ptot is the total power needed to supply all households (W), and n is the number of the
low-economy household. Number of 450 shows the required power of each household. The
number of WEC then could be determined by dividing the total required power by the planned
capacity of single WEC.
Ptot
nWEC  , (12)
Pout
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

where nWEC is the number of WEC that should be installed, and Pout is the capacity of single
WEC (W).

Figure 4. Monthly significant wave height data from 2000-2010

3. Results and Discussion

A. Wave Energy Assessment
During the period of 2000 to 2010, the National Institution of Meteorology, Climatology,
and Geophysics (BMKG) has collected data of significant wave height in all ocean region in
Indonesia. The data were based on the Windwave-05 model and taken in each 6 hours [14].
They were tabulated in Figure 4. In that graph, both average and maximum wave height are
noted. Later analysis and calculation would consider these two wave conditions.
From (1)-(4), the parameters of the wave are tabulated in Figure 7 and Figure 8. The first
figure tabulates those parameters’ values for average wave height, while the second figure is
for the maximum wave height. Then, by using (5) and (6), the mechanical energy and
mechanical power of the wave are tabulated in Figure 9 and Figure 10. From both figures, the
average potential wave mechanical energy and power for average wave height condition are
4,473.3 J/m2 and 15,177.2 W/mcl respectively. Meanwhile, the average potential wave
mechanical energy and power for maximum wave height condition are 6,841.5 J/m2 and
43,360.3 W/mcl respectively.
The value of potential mechanical power shows the possible input power that could be
captured by the floating buoy. However, the power captured by the floating buoy depends on
the dimension of the buoy, as mentioned in (8).

B. Required WEC Unit

The graph of low-economy households from each province is shown in Figure 5. From
Figure 5, it was known that the target of the households to be supplied is 13,000 households.
Then, by using (7), the total power capacity required is about 5.85 MW.
After obtaining the required electric power capacity based on the number of low-economy
households, then for certain power capacity of WEC, the number of the WEC that should be
built is known. The results are shown in Figure 6. From the figure, larger the capacity of single
WEC, the number of the WEC would be fewer. From Figure 6, the required 1 kW WEC is
5,850 units. If the capacity of the WEC is increased to 5 kW, the number of the WEC becomes
1,170 units. As mentioned earlier, it was assumed that the generator could produce the desired
output power, since the buoy could capture sufficient input mechanical power. So the only
problem here is then determining the required dimension of the buoy.
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Figure 5. Number of low-economy households in coastal area of Indonesia.

C. Characteristics of Wave Energy Utilization using Proposed WEC

The dimension of the floating buoy is affected by the input power that is required by the
generator. The input power, is affected by the conversion efficiency and output power/capacity
of the generator, as shown in (9) and (10). As mentioned earlier, the capacity of the pico-scale
generator in this case ranges between 1 kW to 5 kW. Then the relation between the capacity of
the generator and the required input power is shown in Figure 11.
From the values of the required input power, along with certain desired capacities of the
generator, the dimension of the buoy would be known. Since the input power is function of the
conversion efficiency, the dimension of the buoy would also influenced by this efficiency. The
relation between the capacity of the generator and the dimension of the buoy is shown in Figure
12 (for average wave height condition) and Figure 13 (for maximum wave height condition).
From these figures, the dimension and the required input power are directly proportional
to the capacity of the WEC, On the other hand, they are inversely proportional to the conversion
efficiency of the WEC.

Figure 6. Relation between capacity and number of the WEC.

Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Figure 7. Monthly wave parameters (average wave height condition).

Figure 8. Monthly wave parameters (maximum wave height condition).

Figure 9. Monthly average mechanical energy and power (average wave height condition).
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Figure 10. Monthly average mechanical energy and power (maximum wave height
condition).

Figure 11. Relation between capacity of single WEC and required input power for various
conversion efficiency.

Figure 12. Relation between capacity of single WEC and diameter of the buoy for various
conversion efficiency (average wave height condition)
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Figure 13. Relation between capacity of single WEC and diameter of the buoy for various
conversion efficiency (maximum wave height condition)

Figure 14. Yearly carbon emission reduction after utilizing WEC with certain capacity factor.

The generation of electrical energy from wave energy could reduce the utilization of fossil
energy sources for electrical power plant. In other words, the wave energy utilization could
reduce the amount of carbon emission. For several capacity factors between 0.1 and 0.3, the
potential reduction of carbon emission is shown in Figure 14. In this case, the data of carbon
emission amount from power plant in 2014 is used. From Figure 14, higher the capacity factor,
the reduction of carbon emission would be higher too.

4. Conclusion
Based in the wave height data, south coast of Yogyakarta has quite large potential of mechanical
wave energy to be converted to electrical energy. For average wave height condition, the
average mechanical energy and power are 4,473.3 J/m2 and 15,177.2 W/mcl. Meanwhile, for
maximum wave height condition, the average wave mechanical energy and power are 6,841.5
J/m2 and 43,360.3 W/mcl respectively. For supplying the electricity need of the people, the
required number of WEC unit is inversely proportional to the capacity of single WEC. For pico-
scale generator, the required number of WEC is 5,850 for 1 kW output power, and 1,170 for 5
kW output. Furthermore, the dimension and the required input power are directly proportional
to the capacity of the single WEC, but are inversely proportional to the conversion efficiency
of the WEC. Besides, higher the capacity factor, the reduction of carbon emission would be
higher.
Elapsed time on arrival: a simple and versatile primitive for canonical time synchronisation services

Reference
1. PLN (Persero). (2014) Statistik PLN 2014. Jakarta: Company Secretariat of PLN (Persero).
2. Dewan Energi Nasional RI, Indonesia Energy Outlook 2014, Jakarta: Sekretariat Jenderal
Dewan Energi Nasional RI, 2014.
3. BPPT RI. (2014) Outlook Energy Indonesia 2014, Jakarta: BPPT RI.
4. BPPT RI. (2015) Outlook Energi Indonesia 2015, Jakarta: BPPT RI.
5. PT. PLN (Persero). (2015). Rencana Usaha Penyediaan Tenaga Listrik 2015-2024. Jakarta:
PT. PLN (Persero).
6. I. C. Kim, N. J. Lee, J. Wata, B. S. Hyun and Y. H. Lee, "Experiments on the magnetic
coupling in a small scale counter rotating marine current turbine," IOP Conf. Series: Materials
Science and Engineering, vol. 129, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2016.
7. I. and R. Suryaningsih, "Study on Wave Energy into Electricity in the South Coast of
Yogyakarta, Indonesia," in Conference and Exhibition Indonesia Renewable Energy & Energy
Conservation, Jakarta, 2013.
8. P. Wang, J. Si and C. Gao, "Research of Permanent Magnet Linear Generator for Wave
Energy," Journal of Convergence Information Technology, vol. VII, no. 22, pp. 694-701, 2012.
9. M. A. F. M. Hamim, T. Ibrahim and N. M. Nor, "Modeling and Analyze a Single-Phase
Halbach Magnetized Tubular Linear Permanent Magnet Generator for Wave Energy Conversion,"
in International Conference on Power and Energy, Kuching, 2014.
10. L. H. Holthuijsen, Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2010.
11. Sekretariat Wakil Presiden Republik Indonesia. (2011). Pendataan Rumah Tangga Miskin di
Wilayah Pesisir/Nelayan, Jakarta: Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan.
12. R. Parthasarathy, "Linear PM Generator for Wave Energy Conversion," Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, 2012.
13. Brekken, T. (2010). Fundamentals of Ocean Wave Energy Conversion, Modelling, and
Control. IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronic. Bari: IEEE.
14. Bidang Meteorologi Puslitbang BMKG, Peta Klimatologi Gelombang Laut Indonesia,
Jakarta: Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika RI, 2012