This project will develop and test a mooring component for floating wind, wave and tidal energy installations - the intelligent active mooring system (IAMS). The system will reduce the cost of anchors, mooring components and the moored structure to reduce the overall cost of energy produced from marine renewables, whilst also reducing mooring footprints and providing some element of energy recovery from structure motions. The key project objectives include fatigue testing of the active mooring component, development of the intelligent control system and prototype testing. The final deliverable will be an investor-ready technology development proposition supported by a detailed technology report, prototype basis of design a costed development plan and a commercial business case analysis.

Two of the major costs in mooring arrays will be the installation and the cost of top end connections of the mooring line to the device. This study seeks to prove out the technology of using fibre rope operating through a nylon lined fixed fairlead to replace conventional wire or chain systems. This concept may deliver a step-change reduction in CAPEX, OPEX and reduced installation cost. It is a lighter, easier to handle, no maintenance through life, lower cost system compared to conventional methods. If this concept works it will break through a major technological barrier and will apply to any marine device whether renewable, oil and gas or any other marine device responding to 1st order wave motions. A testing program will be conducted to verify the method and quantify the fatigue damage accumulation to enable system designers to calculate wear. A full scale prototype will be built and installed for a field trial and data accumulated to verify the laboratory research.

The aim of the TSB project was to improve understanding of the AWS-III wave energy system and assess opportunities for performance improvements via a series of model tests at the Kelvin Hydrodynamics Laboratory. This was done in conjunction with complimentary numerical modelling using external and internal modelling resource. 9th, 20th and 50th Scale tests were undertaken to inform and enhance understanding of the device, subsystem components and their behaviours. This led to design improvements, technology developments and learning and understanding of how we can optimise the AWS-III device to improve power performance, survivability and dynamic stability and reduce the resulting cost of energy.