Forewind Deploys Wind Resource Assessment Lidar ZephIR 300 at Dogger Bank Wind Farm (UK)

Leading wind resource assessment lidar ZephIR 300, a Natural Power product, has been deployed offshore by Forewind to provide wind measurement data for the Dogger Bank wind farm.

The system has been installed successfully on RWE Dea UK’s gas platform 125km from shore and will provide wind speeds at heights from just 10m to 200m throughout the four-year deployment.

The Forewind consortium (RWE npower renewables, SSE, Statoil and Statkraft) have selected Natural Power’s ZephIR 300 to provide the first high-quality wind data measurements in close proximity to the Dogger Bank Zone – the largest of the UK’s Round 3 zones with the potential for up to 13GW of installed capacity. The first of various consents required for the Dogger Bank project is anticipated around late 2014.

Forewind Head of Engineering and Supply Chain, Mark Legerton said that the ZephIR 300 lidar will give data on the local wind characteristics for use in early site design activities. “It will also improve the evaluation of the overall project wind resource by enhancing the validation of local wind modelling,” Dr Legerton said. “The ZephIR 300 was chosen because it is a proven, reliable and safe technology, able to economically provide high quality wind data in an offshore environment,” he added.

 “The Dogger Bank project relies on innovative flexible solutions and close cooperation with suppliers. This successful lidar deployment is an example of this – only made possible through Natural Power’s responsiveness and an excellent working partnership with the platform operator RWE Dea UK.”

 Ian Locker, ZephIR MD within Natural Power commented: “We are delighted to be supporting Forewind on this Round 3 project providing them with the quality wind data they require for taking the project through design and consent. Our qualified offshore ZephIR engineers aided with the deployment of ZephIR on RWE Dea UK’s gas platform and data is already being gathered from the site.”

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Source: naturalpower, July 18, 2011