Blue Gem to Provide Valorous Wave Data to Local Surfers

Blue Gem Wind, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Energy, has redeployed an EOLOS FLS200 floating LiDAR system at the proposed Valorous floating wind project site to continue an offshore metocean campaign in the Celtic Sea. The company said it will share wave data with local surfers.

Alfie Wisdom, delivery manager at Blue Gem Wind said that the LiDAR system will provide the company with wind, wave, and current data from the proposed Valorous project, which is expected to further add to the information already collected from the company’s 96 MW Erebus test and demonstration project that is currently in development.

“This will allow us to undertake engineering and environmental studies with greater confidence in the site conditions and wind resource,” added Wisdom.

Blue Gem Wind has also announced that weather data from the LiDAR will be available for public use on their website.

“As someone who gets out on the water as much as possible I know how useful local weather information can be, particularly wave data for surfers at Fresh West. Having in insight into wave height and period from a buoy 50km offshore is really helpful in planning a trip down to the beach,” said David Jones, Stakeholder Manager.

The company deployed the floating LiDAR system in September last year which then capsized and was recovered in January 2022.

The LiDAR system was redeployed on 10 May and it will remain at the site for eleven months to gather the necessary data to inform the proposed project, which could have an installed capacity of 300 MW.

At the beginning of 2021, Blue Gem Wind submitted a scoping report for the Valorous floating offshore wind farm, which is the second project being progressed by the joint venture in the Celtic Sea with the proposed site approximately 50 kilometres southwest of the Pembrokeshire coastline.

Last year, the developer launched offshore digital aerial surveys at the project site and metocean studies for both the Erebus and Valorous projects.

TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Energy established Blue Gem Wind in March 2020 to develop floating offshore wind projects in the Welsh waters of the Celtic Sea.

A few months later, the partnership secured seabed rights to develop the Erebus project at a site located 45 kilometres southwest of the Pembrokeshire coastline. The floating wind farm will feature up to 10 turbines on WindFloat platforms.

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