Explore expertise
WEC exists to produce decision-ready evidence for wind innovation — from novel turbine architectures to wind plant controllers and grid integration. 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 and power-system interaction — 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.
Reliability, condition monitoring & O&M
Diagnostics, structural dynamics, asset management and fatigue-aware control evaluation.
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. Two exemplars are X-Rotor (novel turbine architecture) and StrathFarm (wind farm control & loads simulation at scale).
X-Rotor
X-Rotor represents WEC’s capability in genuinely disruptive wind turbine concepts — where aerodynamics, loads, control and power conversion must be co-designed. The work is inherently multi-physics: coupled aerodynamic behaviour, structural load pathways, controller architectures, and the system-level consequences for power and operability.
- Concept-to-control co-design: evaluate feasibility and define control objectives early (not after hardware is built).
- Loads-aware innovation: quantify structural loading implications, not just AEP.
- System integration: connect turbine architecture choices to grid-facing behaviour and power electronics requirements.
- Independent de-risking: produce evidence that survives scrutiny at technical and investment gates.
(We can add a dedicated X-Rotor project page later, including figures and report links.)
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: minimum required dynamics to evaluate controller impact on power and loads.
- Correlated turbulence + wakes: farm-scale realism including wake meandering and steering representations.
- Validated dynamics: turbine response verified in the frequency domain (spectral agreement against Bladed to key harmonics).
- Controller interoperability: DISCON-style calling convention supports controller workflows familiar from FAST/Bladed.
(We can add a StrathFarm page later with plots: time series, spectra, wake layouts, and controller case studies.)
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 modelling, constraints, sensitivity and failure modes.
Controller strategy, plant interaction, grid-code pathway and 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 reliability challenge — WEC can help you generate credible evidence and reduce risk.
© Wind Energy and Control (WEC) · University of Strathclyde