Technology body Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has selected the University of Edinburgh’s FloWave research facility to conduct tank testing campaigns in search of the ‘ideal’ wave and wind hybrid platform.
The contract, worth £250,000, has been awarded to Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, and will be led by the FloWave team.
WES, appointed by the Scottish Government and a subsidiary of Highlands and Island Enterprise, looks for innovative solutions to the technical challenges facing the wave energy sector. FloWave is the most sophisticated test tank in the world for wave and tidal devices.
Aileen Appleyard, head of consultancy at Edinburgh Innovations, said:
We are pleased Wave Energy Scotland recognised the world-leading test capabilities of FloWave, and we look forward to working with them to support the development of Scotland’s offshore renewables sector. ”
Tim Hurst, managing director of WES, said:
FloWave’s circular tank allows the direction of the wave approaching the test platform to be easily changed in the tank settings, rather than having to physically move and reorient the model in the tank.
“This has advantages regarding the quality and accuracy of waves generated. FloWave also has the capability to do the scale model design and coordinate building of the physical test model. ”
WES aims to better understand the physical interaction and performance of wave energy devices when mounted on a floating offshore wind type platform, as peer reviewed data on the performance and feasibility of these hybrid structures is limited.
From here, according to WES, it will be possible to optimize the configuration and identify the ‘ideal’ hybrid platform featuring wind and wave energy technologies.
The organisation is exploring the techno-economic benefits of sharing of supply chains, physical infrastructure and services between wave energy and floating offshore wind systems.
