USA: UMaine’s Offshore Wind Buoy Set for Action

The University of Maine unveiled on Friday its buoy-based system that will measure the wind speed in the Gulf of Maine at the height of an offshore wind turbine, the Associated Press reports.

Initially, the buoy will be installed off the coast of Castine, together with the UMaine’s 1/8 scale prototype of a 6MW floating wind turbine. Afterward, the buoy is meant to help offshore wind developers to collect data on potential offshore wind sites that have not been evaluated.  

The buoy uses the LiDAR system, which measures the wind speed at heights of up to 600 feet by using a laser.

[mappress]

Offshore WIND Staff, May 27, 2013; Image: MWII