Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a technology development body[clarification needed] set up by the Scottish Government to facilitate the development of wave energy in Scotland. It was set up in 2015 and is a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) based in Inverness.
WES has managed numerous projects resulting from pre-commercial procurement funding calls in six main topic areas: power take-off, novel wave energy converters, structural materials and manufacturing processes, control systems, quick connection systems, and next generation wave energy. Each of these uses a stage-gate process, with fewer successful projects passing to later stages. WES has also commissioned eight landscaping studies in two phases.[1]
In 2020, together with the Basque Energy Agency (Ente Vasco de la Energía or EVE), WES set up the EuropeWave programme to develop and test the most promising wave energy technologies, of which three concepts will be tested at sea. This is supported by European Horizon 2020 funding.