Prior to issuing technology development calls, Wave Energy Scotland carries out landscaping studies to identify the state of the art for the selected technology development areas. This landscaping study investigates the control requirements of Wave Energy Converters (WECs).

The control of forces, motions, power transmission, and auxiliary systems is a fundamental requirement of any WEC system and should be considered integral to the entire concept and design development. This report aims to convey a comprehensive statement and explanation of the functional requirements and scientific targets that need to be satisfied for a WEC control system to be effective. WEC control is a challenging topic but is more readily assimilated if the context for control is understood. This report provides that foundation, developing the theme of control functional requirements in a number of ways including a demonstration that all of the main control requirements for WECs are closely mapped to the metrics that influence cost of energy, these being performance, availability/reliability, survivability, cost base and practicality.

The study was undertaken by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult with partners Quoceant and Sgurr Control

Supplementary guidance on the specification and interfacing of models and simulations of Wave Energy Converters (WEC), and Power Take Off (PTO) systems in particular is given in 'Modelling and Validation of Power Take Off Systems for Control Development'.