Further Development of Snl-swan, a Validated Wave Energy Converter Array Modeling Tool

Commercialization of wave energy will lead to the necessary deployment of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in arrays, or wave farms. In order for projects in the United States to be approved, regulatory agencies must perform an Environmental Assessment proving little to no environmental impact. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of such wave farms. As a result, the environmental impacts of wave farms are largely determined by numerical wave models capable of modeling large areas (i.e., spectral wave models). However spectral wave models are currently limited in their ability to model WECs. Sandia National Laboratories is developing SNL-SWAN, a modified version of Simulation WAves Nearshore [1] that includes a validated WEC Module to more realistically model the frequency and sea state dependent wave energy conversion of WECs. This paper will provide an update on its development.