Fugro’s Seawatch wind lidar buoy has achieved the highest commercial maturity rating, Stage 3, in accordance with the Carbon Trust Roadmap for the Commercial Acceptance of floating LiDAR technology.
Fugro’s floating lidar system is the first in the world to gain this Stage 3 rating, which certifies the Seawatch system as a primary source of wind resource data to support financial investment decisions for offshore wind farms.
Independent third-party evaluation by DNV verified Fugro’s Seawatch wind lidar buoy as meeting the highest standards of data availability for commercial offshore wind campaigns.
Data accuracy consistently met industry best-practice criteria in verification trials and, in addition, wind speed measurements in classification trials gave consistent results for sensitivity to environmental variables.
Jorn Erik Norangshol, Fugro’s director for monitoring and forecasting in Norway, said: “In receiving this world-first Stage 3 rating, we acknowledge the support of our offshore wind clients – in particular Orsted, Eolfi-Shell, Engie and Iberdrola – who kindly granted access to their measurement Geo-data for third-party assessment.
“Our floating lidar systems not only delivered reliable and accurate measurement campaigns to our valued clients but also moved the industry a big step forward on the path towards commercial acceptance of floating lidar technology to support investment in offshore wind farms and the wider green energy transition.”