Site selection for scaled open water testing of a wave energy converter

Abstract

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.

Satellite data for the offshore renewable energy sector: Synergies and innovation opportunities

“…When technology starts to reach a higher level of maturity, testing a prototype at sea is then required. The process to determine an appropriate open water site for a scaled device is not straightforward and detailed analysis of both the commercial deployment site and the scale test site is required Mclean et al (2019).…”

“…Regardless of the feature of the wave resource being exploited by the WEC, accurate representation of that resource is required. Seasonal and annual variations at a site can be significant Perignon (2017), Mclean et al (2019) so extensive knowledge of a deployment site is important at a number of stages throughout the development of a WEC and a commercial project. During design phases it is important to understand the wave conditions and how this will impact on the device motions and loads within individual components.…”

Satellite data for the offshore renewable energy sector: synergies and innovation opportunities

“…When technology starts to reach a higher level of maturity it is required to test a prototype at sea, and this is often undertaken at a scale which is smaller than the expected commercial device. The process to determine an appropriate open water site for a scaled device is not straightforward and detailed analysis of both the commercial deployment site and the scale test site is required Mclean et al (2019).…”

Development and Application of a GIS for Identifying Areas for Ocean Energy Deployment in Irish and Western UK Waters

“…Others apply additional criteria to identify suitable sites for both land-based [7][8][9] and offshore [10,11] renewable energy infrastructure. Many studies have adopted various criteria and methods to conduct on-site identification for ORE in recent years [12][13][14][15], including for wave energy [16][17][18] and tidal energy [19][20][21]. However, a thorough multi-criteria site suitability analysis for wave and tidal energy for the region of interest (see Section 2.1) is lacking.…”