Developing an optimum hotspot identifier for wave energy extracting in the northern Persian Gulf

This study explores the wave energy assessment in the northern Persian Gulf taking into account the temporal and spatial distributions of wave power. A long-term evaluation of the wave energy resources was performed based on the wave characteristics generated using nested high spatial resolution models in the northern Persian Gulf. The spatial distributions of mean wave power, frequency and monthly variability index were analyzed using the simulated long-term data. Then, by using a newly developed identifier, the optimal locations for further assessment were determined in the western and southern sides of the southwestern corner of the domain, i.e. Boushehr and Asalouyeh, respectively. Wave power was then evaluated in the optimal locations in terms of seasonality and storage of wave energy. The results showed that the differences in the total and exploitable storages of wave energy in Asalouyeh and Boushehr areas are particularly noticeable showing the higher potential of Asalouyeh for wave energy harvesting considering the sustainability of wave energy resources. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.