Belgium: DONG Selects FLiDAR for Accurate Offshore Wind Measurements

Following months of analysis DONG Energy has selected FLiDAR to implement the latest generation of wind resource measurement technology. The partnership initially involves a one year measurement campaign in the Irish Sea.

Benj Sykes, UK Country Manager for DONG Energy’s Wind business said; “FLIDAR represents a step forward in how we are developing offshore wind farms in the UK, and it is another example of DONG Energy harnessing innovative technologies to help lower the cost of energy.”

The CEO of FLiDAR, Bruce Douglas, said “We are delighted to be working with a leading player like DONG Energy to further reduce the cost and increase the speed of wind measurement campaigns. This partnership represents a significant endorsement of the highly accurate and cost effective measurements that FLiDAR can provide”.

The FLiDAR measurement buoy is a floating LiDAR based system which represents a major break-through for the offshore wind industry enabling dramatic cost reductions for offshore wind resource assessments. It has been developed by 3E, global renewable energy consultancy and software services provider, and Offshore & Wind Assistance (OWA), the subsidiary of marine contractor Geosea focussing on Operations and Maintenance.

It consists of a marine buoy equipped with a state-of-the-art buoy-adapted LEOSPHERE WINDCUBE®v2 LiDAR secured on top of it. The FLiDAR is designed and built to withstand harsh offshore conditions and has been proven to deliver high quality, reliable wind measurement data at significantly lower costs than a standard offshore measurement mast. FLiDAR is the first floating LiDAR based measurement device to be successfully tested in real offshore conditions in the North Sea in 2011. The FLiDAR is currently being validated further in the Irish Sea as part of the UK’s Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator programme.

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Press release, January 29, 2013; Image: flidar