In this 3-year funded LiftWEC Project, partners collaborate to determine the economic potential for a new type of wave energy converter (WEC) using lift forces converting wave energy to electricity. The LiftWEC consist of a hydrofoil rotating around a horizontal axis interacting with the incident waves turning a generator generating electricity. The rotor and generators can be mounted on different types of support structures. The final project objective is to propose and evaluate one or more promising LiftWEC configurations.

In this context the LiftWEC Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) Calculation Tool has been developed. It is a transparent and simple tool that can assist in the evaluation of the LiftWEC concepts economic feasibility. It has been developed to ensure consistent and transparent calculation methods and to provide a reference framework for performing LCOE analyses. The Tool further facilitates the development of LiftWEC as it allows the identification of the components or cost centres with highest impact on the LCOE.

This deliverable focuses on the economic assessment of four different baseline LiftWEC configurations. These four configurations where selected by consensus by the project consortium. Except for some small refinements, the hydrofoil rotor, power take-off system and its pitch control are essentially the same for all configurations with the difference being in the implementation of the reaction and station-keeping requirements. The first configuration consists of a jack-up tower, the second one of a tension leg platform (TLP), the third one of a semi-submersible structure and the fourth one of a spar buoy.

To carry out a comparative economic assessment for each of the four configurations, the Capital Expenditures CAPEX, Operational Expenditures OPEX over the lifetime of the project and the Levelized Cost of Energy LCOE are utilized. These allow identifying the main economic differences and competitiveness among them. The assumptions used for each cost centre is detailed in the Deliverable.