Many wave energy converter developers opt to carry out scaled prototype open water testing of their device as part of their technology development. Developers who have done this recently include Sea Power (1/5 scale, Galway Bay, 2017), CorPower (1/4 scale, EMEC, 2018) and Marine Power Systems (1/4 scale, FaBTest, ongoing). Scaled open water testing offers several benefits, including more representative realisations of sub-systems, identification and resolution of technological issues associated with scaling-up, and de-risking the manufacturing and marine operational procedures ahead of commercial-scale testing. In preparation for testing in Stage 3 of the Novel Wave Energy Converter programme, Wave Energy Scotland has considered requirements of a suitable scaled open water site and the methods for selection. In common with commercial site identification, this must consider operational infrastructure, time and funding constraints, and the appropriateness of site characteristics. This appropriateness is further complicated by the need to find a site of comparable scaled water depth and where the sea-states of interest (when scaled to full-scale) are likely to occur with sufficient frequency over the duration of the intended testing campaign. This paper presents an approach, and its associated assumptions, to identify locations which have the potential to satisfy the scaled open water site considerations, before discussing the challenges to satisfy the critical testing outcomes, and the pragmatism required to meet all requirements.

Marine renewable energy devices require mooring and foundation systems that suitable in terms of device operation and are also robust and cost effective. In the initial stages of mooring and foundation development a large number of possible configuration permutations exist. Filtering of unsuitable designs is possible using information specific to the deployment site (i.e. bathymetry, environmental conditions) and device (i.e. mooring and/or foundation system role and cable connection requirements). The identification of a final solution requires detailed analysis, which includes load cases based on extreme environmental statistics following certification guidance processes. Static and/or quasi-static modelling of the mooring and/or foundation system serves as an intermediate design filtering stage enabling dynamic time-domain analysis to be focused on a small number of potential configurations. Mooring and foundation design is therefore reliant on logical decision making throughout this stage-gate process. The open-source DTOcean (Optimal Design Tools for Ocean Energy Arrays) Tool includes a mooring and foundation module, which automates the configuration selection process for fixed and floating wave and tidal energy devices. As far as the authors are aware, this is one of the first tools to be developed for the purpose of identifying potential solutions during the initial stages of marine renewable energy design. While the mooring and foundation module does not replace a full design assessment, it provides in addition to suitable configuration solutions, assessments in terms of reliability, economics and environmental impact. This article provides insight into the solution identification approach used by the module and features the verification of both the mooring system calculations and the foundation design using commercial software. Several case studies are investigated: a floating wave energy converter and several anchoring systems. It is demonstrated that the mooring and foundation module is able to provide device and/or site developers with rapid mooring and foundation design solutions to appropriate design criteria.