The energy absorption of the wave energy converters (WEC) characterized by a limited\nstroke length ââ?¬â?like the point absorbers developed at Uppsala Universityââ?¬â?depends on the sea level\nvariation at the deployment site. In coastal areas characterized by high tidal ranges, the daily energy\nproduction of the generators is not optimal. The study presented in this paper quantifies the effects\nof the changing sea level at theWave Hub test site, located at the south-west coast of England. This\narea is strongly affected by tides: the tidal height calculated as the difference between the Mean High\nWater Spring and the Mean LowWater Spring in 2014 was about 6.6 m. The results are obtained from\na hydro-mechanic model that analyzes the behaviour of the point absorber at the Wave Hub, taking\ninto account the sea state occurrence scatter diagram and the tidal time series at the site. It turns\nout that the impact of the tide decreases the energy absorption by 53%. For this reason, the need\nfor a tidal compensation system to be included in the design of the WEC becomes compelling. The\neconomic advantages are evaluated for different scenarios: the economic analysis proposed within\nthe paper allows an educated guess to be made on the profits. The alternative of extending the stroke\nlength of the WEC is investigated, and the gain in energy absorption is estimated.
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