Explore expertise
WEC exists to produce decision-ready evidence for wind innovation — from novel turbine architectures to wind plant controllers, grid integration, and energy storage planning. We combine validated modelling, advanced control design, reliability engineering and rapid experimental validation (MERINO Lab) to de-risk technology.
What WEC can do end-to-end
If you bring us a concept, we can help you answer: does it work, why, and what’s the risk? Our work spans turbine-level physics through wind farm behaviour, power-system interaction and storage integration — and produces evidence suitable for engineering decisions, investment gates, or funded programmes.
Novel turbine concepts & architectures
Feasibility, performance potential, constraints and risk for disruptive wind turbine concepts.
Aerodynamics, aeroelasticity & loads
Performance, load pathways, stability and coupled aero-structural-control behaviour.
Power conversion, machines & control
Converter–machine interaction, drivetrain concepts, grid-supporting/grid-forming control.
Wind farm control & grid integration
Wake-aware plant control, weak-grid stability, grid-code pathways and system-level impact.
Energy storage sizing & optimisation
Techno-economic planning of battery and hydrogen storage co-located with wind generation.
Digital twins & independent validation
Evidence-driven workflows combining models, operational data and targeted experiments.
Flagship projects
WEC maintains deep, technical projects that are more than “case studies” — they are platforms for creating and validating new methods. Three exemplars are X-Rotor (novel turbine architecture), StrathFarm (wind farm control & loads simulation at scale), and ESPT / battery sizing for wind farms (storage planning, optimisation and revenue stacking).
X-Rotor VAWT
X-Rotor is a hybrid vertical-axis wind turbine concept — a double-V primary rotor with tip-mounted HAWT generators — designed for floating offshore deployment. WEC leads the aerodynamic modelling, control co-design and performance analysis for this genuinely disruptive architecture where loads, aerodynamics and power conversion must be resolved together.
- Concept-to-control co-design: evaluate feasibility and define control objectives early.
- Loads-aware innovation: quantify structural loading implications, not just AEP.
- System integration: connect turbine architecture choices to grid-facing behaviour.
- Independent de-risking: produce evidence that survives technical scrutiny.
EU H2020 Project 101007135 · University of Strathclyde · Morgan & Leithead (2022)
StrathFarm
StrathFarm is WEC’s control-first wind farm simulation environment designed to support rapid controller development while retaining the dynamics needed to quantify both power and structural loads. It integrates wake interactions, correlated turbulent wind fields, and turbine dynamics verified in the frequency domain against industry tools.
- Designed for wind farm control: evaluate controller impact on power and loads.
- Correlated turbulence + wakes: farm-scale realism including wake meandering and steering.
- Validated dynamics: turbine response verified in the frequency domain.
- Controller interoperability: supports familiar FAST/Bladed-style workflows.
(We can add a StrathFarm page later with plots: time series, spectra, wake layouts, and controller case studies.)
Battery sizing for wind farms · ESPT
The Energy Storage Planning Tool (ESPT) is WEC’s flagship platform for designing and de-risking wind farm co-location with storage. It determines the optimal size, operating strategy and market participation of battery and hydrogen storage systems under realistic GB market conditions.
- Optimal sizing: identifies the best MW/MWh configuration for co-located storage.
- Revenue stacking: evaluates Dynamic Containment, Dynamic Moderation, Dynamic Regulation, FFR, STOR, Fast Reserve and Black Start pathways.
- System-aware design: includes wind variability, curtailment, connection constraints and operational strategy.
- Investment-grade outputs: translates technical performance into NPV, EAA, IRR and cost-benefit metrics.
(We can also create a dedicated ESPT project page with screenshots, services covered, and example optimisation outputs.)
Our de-risking workflow
We operate as an independent, technically rigorous partner. Most engagements follow a structured pathway that produces decision-ready evidence rather than open-ended exploration.
Define success, key uncertainties, and what would falsify the concept.
Performance, loads, storage or control modelling, constraints, sensitivity and failure modes.
Controller strategy, plant interaction, storage operation, and grid-code/stability implications.
Targeted experiments, rapid prototyping and real-time control validation via MERINO Lab.
Independent report, risk register, and next-step roadmap to scale-up.
MERINO Lab
MERINO (Modular Energy Conversion and Control Laboratory) accelerates real-time digital control deployment for energy conversion systems. Its modular in-house platforms support rapid prototyping and aggressive testing, including fault testing, without the cost barrier typical of commercial real-time systems.
Control is real only when it runs on real hardware
WEC can move beyond “simulation-only” claims: control software can be deployed, tested and iterated in real time under realistic disturbances — providing high-confidence evidence before expensive prototypes.
- Controller prototyping and verification in real time
- Converter control and grid-support behaviour studies
- Safe boundary testing and fault injection workflows
Bring us your hardest wind problem.
Whether it’s a novel turbine concept, a wake-control strategy, a grid-service requirement, or a storage co-location challenge — WEC can help you generate credible evidence and reduce risk.
© Wind Energy and Control (WEC) · University of Strathclyde