The best wave energy resources are typically found far from land, especially in the far southern latitudes. However, these optimal locations often lie outside any single nation's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and are located in deep ocean waters, though a few places stand out, namely Kerguelen Islands, the southern coast of Chile and the southern tip of New Zealand. The Kerguelen Islands are situated in a prime wave energy location, with a potential capacity factor exceeding 90% when using best of breed point-absorber wave energy converters (WECs). This could result in a levelised cost of electricity of 31.4 €/MWh by 2050. An earlier study showed that the Kerguelen Islands could support up to 7 GW of installable wave power capacity, utilising only 15% of the EEZ.

To evaluate the feasibility of establishing an energy hub on Kerguelen Islands, a scenario was developed using the EnergyPLAN modelling software. The scenario involves producing e-fuels and e-chemicals, which will be essential for sectors like marine and aviation transportation and chemicals as the world transitions to a defossilised economy. This analysis assumes that the islands could supply fuel for East Asia, particularly Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. By 2050, the 7 GW wave power system could meet 3% of the demand for e-fuels and e-chemicals in these countries, producing 3.5 TWhth,LHV of e-kerosene, 2.6 TWhth,LHV of e-diesel, 19 TWhth,LHV of e-methanol, 2.5 TWhth,LHV of e-LNG, and 4.9 TWhth,LHV of e-ammonia. The cost projections for 2050 suggest that e-fuels and e-chemicals produced from Kerguelen Islands could be highly competitive, with projected costs of 95.0 €/MWh for e-kerosene and e-diesel, 78.7 €/MWh for e-methanol, 64.5 €/MWh for e-LNG, and 68.4 €/MWh for e-ammonia.

In addition to wave power, the system would incorporate 2 GWhcap of battery storage and 50 GWh of underground rock cavern hydrogen storage, further enhancing the energy hub's capacity and flexibility. These costs, assumed for 2050, are projected to be competitive compared to leading global sites, such as the Atacama Desert, which has excellent solar PV resources. For comparison, the Atacama Desert’s e-fuels production cost is estimated to range from 70-75 €/MWh, e-methanol is between 49-57 €/MWh and e-ammonia at 53 €/MWh.

However, the costs mentioned above do not include shipping costs. Shipping costs for ammonia for 10,000 km to East Asia could add up to 8 €/MWh, while shipping costs for methanol could add up to 4 €/MWh. For the Kerguelen Islands an attractive business model could be established to diversify the global e-fuels and e-chemicals production that may largely shift towards solar energy. This creates a promising opportunity for investment in a gigawatt-scale energy hub for e-fuels and e-chemicals on Kerguelen Islands, including the necessary infrastructure for shipping and workforce to maintain such a system.

Mitigating climate change requires a variety of energy technologies and energy simulation approaches to evaluate the best possible system structures. Screening whether novel technologies are a viable solution for a particular country within a cost-optimised system setup is usually simulation- and time-intensive. This study introduces the novel add-on optimisation tool EP-ALISON-LUT for use in combination with EnergyPLAN applied to the test case of wave power in the case of Seychelles in 2030 and 2050 within a structured sensitivity analysis. The tool enables a high number of possible system setups and scenarios, including the import and domestic production of electricity-based fuels, to be modelled, allowing for an in-depth view of the system impacts of integrating wave power. The results indicate a limited role for wave power due to its relatively low yield, especially in 2030. However, in 2050, up to 500 MW of wave power capacity is possible with a lower or similar levelised cost of final energy compared to the reference scenario in 2019, which can benefit the diversification of the power generation portfolio. Thus, this novel tool is fast and effective in technology screening studies requiring a fast optimisation algorithm.

Energy transition on small islands is limited by the scarce availability of land, restricting large-scale implementation of onshore renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics and wind power. Ocean energy technologies provide novel opportunities for land-constrained islands to achieve 100% renewable energy systems. While wave power is increasingly implemented in energy system modelling research, ocean thermal energy converters are not yet a standard technology in renewable energy technology portfolios. This research aims to study the impacts of ocean thermal energy converters on the energy system of the Maldives through a structured sensitivity analysis for the two scenario clusters covering e-fuel import and domestic production. The ocean thermal energy conversion plants are modelled using spatially and temporally resolved resource data and cost assumptions from a global upscaling scenario, considering the technology's current development stage. Results show that ocean thermal energy converters play a limited role in 'purely' cost-optimised sub-scenarios due to the availability of very low-cost offshore floating photovoltaics, making it difficult for them to compete. Nevertheless, reduced requirement of energy storage technologies due to the stable electricity production of ocean thermal energy converters offers an option to diversify the renewable energy technology portfolio with only a minor increase in cost.

Climate change is driving the adoption of sustainable energy, with low-cost solar photovoltaics and wind power at the forefront. However, land-constrained regions and islands have a limited onshore renewable energy potential. Wave power may prove useful for such regions, supported by growing literature in the field. This study delves into wave power's techno-economic potential, addressing a gap in previous assessments focused solely on theoretical or technical prospects. Utilising hourly wave data and a wave energy converter manufacturer's power matrix, global wave electricity yield is estimated. Considering projected costs, levelised cost of electricity is used to gauge economic viability. Although wave power is currently expensive, the results suggest that it could become cost-competitive with offshore wind power in the 2030s, with levelised cost of electricity below 70 €/MWh by 2035 in areas with good wave energy resources. Finally, the paper contributes openly accessible, hourly capacity factor data of global wave power generation, empowering further energy system modelling research. This study paves the way for informed decision-making on wave power's role in a diversified, sustainable energy future.