Norwegian seismic firm TGS has started its latest multi-client wind measurement campaign using two LiDAR buoys offshore Germany in the North Sea.
The buoys are equipped with a multitude of sensors, allowing detailed measurements of wind, metocean and environmental data. The collected data is streamed to shore and used to enhance decision-making to support several current and future wind lease rounds in the German Bight.
The buoys, supplied by Green Rebel, will deliver a comprehensive wind data suite over a 24-month measurement campaign.
In addition to wind speed measurements, the data package includes 12 months of critical metocean data, such as significant wave heights and ocean current profiles, acquired via Directional Waverider buoys and seabed-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers.
Data will be continuously streamed, quality-controlled, and made available to customers daily through the Wind AXIOM platform, TGS' site evaluation and wind data analytics tool.
Wind AXIOM allows wind developers and stakeholders to constrain the most influential factors affecting the viability of offshore wind projects, improving the quality and speed of decisions.
All projects are supported by offshore wind industry funding.
"TGS is committed to supporting the growth of global offshore wind energy with data and insights. Early access to essential wind and metocean data significantly mitigates investment risks, empowers informed decisions, and ensures smooth project implementation across the wind development lifecycle.
“With this deployment, we can proudly boast eight offshore LiDAR campaigns concurrently collecting critical wind data worldwide, and more deployments are likely to follow as new areas open up globally,” said Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS.
The TGS multi-client approach, where multiple customers can subscribe to the same floating LiDAR data, offers advantage to offshore wind developers by reducing development costs and timelines.
Similar programs have already been deployed across the East Coast of America, where five buoys are currently collecting data, and offshore Norway, where data availability has averaged 96% at 160 m measurement height throughout the deployment.