AXYS Technologies Inc. has announced the deployment of the world’s first offshore wind resource assessment buoy, the WindSentinel, off of Race Rocks Island, in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Canada.

The buoy has been deployed for validation testing prior to its commercial launch. The validation tests are designed to compare wind data collected by a LIDAR on the moving buoy to wind data collected from a second, stationary LIDAR, on Race Rocks Island 0.5 kilometers away. The test site at Race Rocks Island was specifically chosen to thoroughly test the buoy’s capabilities. The waters surrounding Race Rocks see currents of 5 to 6 knots, waves from 2 to 4 meters and winds up to 50 knots. AXYS says the results of the study will be released to the industry in early 2010.