Wave energy converters: Resources and labour
Storm-proof steel, moorings and the cost of working at sea
What this tab covers The natural resources (land, water, materials, fuel or feedstock) and the labour needed to capture this energy, per unit, with the reason each is needed.Wave devices need large amounts of steel (or concrete for breakwater designs), moorings, subsea cable and marine-operations labour. Almost no land is used.
Natural resources
| Resource | How much | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Steel | 665 t for a farm producing 2.3 GWh a year, about 290 t per GWh/yr (calculated)2 | Hulls and structures must survive storm waves many times the average energy, so they are heavy. |
| Concrete | Not quantified; OWCs are often built into breakwaters2 | Shore and breakwater devices use massive concrete chambers that also protect harbours. |
| Moorings and foundations | About 6% of lifetime costs (IRENA's highlights give 41%, an inconsistency in the source)2 | Floating devices must be held in place yet free to move with the waves. |
| Power take-off (hydraulics, generators, magnets) | About 22% of lifetime costs2 | Converts slow, reversing motion into steady electricity. |
| Sea area | Not quantified7 | Devices are spaced so they do not shadow each other. |
Labour
| Phase | How much | Skills | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Not quantified2 | Shipyard fabrication, hydraulics, electrical engineering | Hulls are similar to ship and offshore structures. |
| Construction | Installation about 18% of lifetime costs2 | Offshore vessel crews, divers, cable laying | Deployment depends on vessels and calm-weather windows. |
| Operation | O&M about 17% of lifetime costs; EUR 48-97/kW per year2 | Marine technicians; IRENA suggests retraining fishermen | Devices in energetic seas need frequent inspection and recovery. |
| Decommissioning | Not quantified3 | Marine salvage | Most prototypes have been removed: 12.6 MW of the 13.5 MW installed in Europe since 2010. |
No study of jobs per MW for wave energy was found; global ocean energy employment is too small to be reported separately in most job surveys.
Sources
- Wave Energy: Technology Brief IRENA, 2014
- Ocean Energy: Key Trends and Statistics 2024 Ocean Energy Europe (copy hosted by PNNL Tethys), 2025
- OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report, Chapter 11: Summary and Path Forward PNNL / Ocean Energy Systems, 2024