The Carbon Trust and RES have kicked off the largest-ever trial of lidar technology for the offshore wind industry in the waters off Ireland.
Over the next three months a range of systems, including three vertical profiling programmes, will be tested in Dublin Bay in a bid to provide more accurate wind measurements.
The project is led by the Carbon Trust and was unveiled to coincide with the Marine Renewables Industry Association annual conference being held in Dublin today.
It is the latest in a series of tests under the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme which is working on ways to reduce costs in the industry.
The Dublin Bay test site is supported by the RES Group and the maritime safety outfit Commissioners of Irish Lights.
Megan Smith of the Carbon Trust said: “Many factors can impact available wind resource at a potential wind farm site including its proximity to shore, neighbouring wind farms, and as a result of tidal currents.
“This project forms a really important stage of the OWA’s efforts to increase the industry’s understanding of wind resource measurement and validate the technologies capable of delivering results.”
She added: “Project financing is a significant proportion of cost, so anything we can do to get a deeper understanding of yield will increase investor confidence and lower the cost of financing.
“This is an ambitious project and has relied on a range of key partners including RES, Irish Lights and the technology developers, Leosphere and Lockheed Martin to get it successfully off the ground. We are looking forward to seeing what results and will be sharing them with the wider industry in due course.”
Image: Dublin (SXC)
