Scientists Analyze Offshore Wind Data in Michigan, USA

Although there are no signs of actual offshore wind farm proposal for Lake Michigan, scientists from the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) are operating a research buoy and collecting information on its wind conditions.

Currently, scientists are analyzing the information they have got from the first set of data cards, the Michigan Radio reported.

The information is more thorough than any available from the Great Lakes so far and it will be used to find out if the offshore wind farms are feasible in Lake Michigan.

The buoy, AXYS WindSentinel, serves as a research platform and uses LIDAR to sample wind speeds at multiple altitudes. It has been anchored about 37 miles off the Lake Michigan shore for about two months now.

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Offshore WIND staff, July 27, 2012; Image: AXYS Technologies