Wave power potential along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern USA

The wave power potential along the southeast Atlantic coast of the United States of America bounded by latitudes 27 degrees N and 38 degrees N and longitudes 82 degrees W and 72 degrees W (i.e. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida) is investigated. The available data from National Data Buoy Center wave stations in the given area are examined. Temporal trends of the wave heights, wave periods and the wave power are analyzed for a time scale of weeks. The time series from the wave stations are downsampled with a 15-day moving average filter with near 50% overlapping to study the seasonal trends. Power calculated from hourly significant wave heights and average wave periods is compared to power calculated using spectral wave density. It is found that a factor of 0.61 needs to be applied to the wave power calculated from hourly significant wave heights and average periods in order to get the same results with the power calculated from spectral wave density. The mean power within 50 km of the shore is determined to be similar to 9 kW/m, whereas higher power (similar to 15 kW/m) is available further offshore. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.