ZephIR Lidar has released details of a new lidar solution for offshore substations within operational offshore wind farms. Substations can now be delivered with a ZephIR 300M wind lidar as part of a Meteorological Monitoring Module to provide remote wind measurements from the system’s installed location up to 200 metres above without the need of a traditional meteorological mast.
ZephIR Lidar has further confirmed the appointment of ENGIE Fabricom, part of the global group ENGIE, as a Trusted Service Provider to provide the engineering and construction of the Lidar in to the Met Monitoring Module. This, the most recent application of Lidar offshore, now moves in to the operational phase of wind farms ensuring safe and efficient operation of the site for the OEM and owner/operator by utilising already available infrastructure – an offshore substation. ZephIR 300M deployed on offshore substations is used for studying wind profiles as information for both helicopter approach and measuring wind at turbine nacelle level. Data is monitored, quality-checked and integrated to the turbine and site’s SCADA system. In this way, continual power curve assessment can also benchmark performance and provide advance warning of problems, assisting with the planning and execution of maintenance strategies. ENGIE Fabricom and ZephIR Lidar can confirm two contracts are already in place on large offshore wind farms with further details to be released in 2018.