Narec Launches Validation Service for Floating LiDAR

The National Renewable Energy Centre, Narec, has launched a new service allowing LiDAR manufacturers and project developers the ability to compare and trial new techniques and technologies against traditional wind measurement methods to measure the wind resource offshore.

The new service will utilise Narec’s high-tech Offshore Anemometry Hub (NOAH), installed three nautical miles offshore, which forms part of the recently consented Blyth Offshore Wind Demonstration Site. The high quality meteorological and ocean sensors installed on NOAH will be used to study the sensitivity of floating LiDAR measurements to waves and atmospheric conditions in a remote offshore environment representative of Round 3 conditions.

This new activity will allow clients to validate new devices and demonstrate the reliability and resource measurement accuracy of floating LiDAR against existing methods.

Following the success of LiDAR for onshore applications, their use in the offshore renewable energy sector could provide significant advantages. Narec is currently engaged in a number of floating LiDAR projects, these projects together with the facility are enabling Narec to build up industry knowledge of the offshore environment and prove new technologies which could reduce the costs of consenting, build-out and operation of offshore renewables.

Ignacio Marti, Narec’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “Narec has launched this new validation service, in order to accelerate the acceptance of this new technology within the offshore wind sector.

“By developing innovative and competitive testing and validation services Narec is helping to reduce time to market of new technologies that will ultimately help to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy.” 

[mappress]

Press release, November 14, 2013; Image: Narec