FLiDAR’s device has completed an independent validation assessment and has moved to stage two of the Carbon Trust’s offshore wind accelerator roadmap for commercial acceptance.
The device uses buoy-mounted laser measuring equipment to calculate wind speeds, which could be used to help determine the economic feasibility of an offshore wind development.
It could offer a cheaper alternative to the conventional meteorological masts that are currently used.
The FLiDAR was validated against the Offshore Renewable Energy Cataplut meteorological mast off the coast of Blyth.
The three month validation received part funding from the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme, and came on the back of a previous Carbon Trust validation undertaken in the Irish Sea.
The general manager of FLiDAR, Bruce Douglas, said: “This milestone will significantly increase the value of the data we are delivering to the offshore wind industry and further reduce the cost of offshore wind resource assessments.”
Megan Smith, associate in innovation at the Carbon Trust, added: “We believe floating LiDAR technology has the potential to replace meteorological met masts for the measurement of primary wind resource data – wind speed and wind direction, for a fraction of the cost, however the technology needs to be proven.”