ZephIR’s wind lidar system ZephIR 300 has been chosen by Babcock International Group to collect wind data on its pioneering floating lidar platform. The new platform allows the ZephIR 300 to collect data offshore without the need for post-processing or compensation.
The new technology will, once proven successful, significantly cut capital expenditure costs by removing the need for fixed meteorological masts. The platform provides the stability needed to collect accurate lidar data by utilising a low-motion buoy. Babcock’s marine expertise means the buoy has been shown to pitch and roll less than five degrees from vertical in waves of up to 4.25m Significant Wave Height (Hs). All wind lidar systems are susceptible to the water’s motion impacting on the quality of the collected data, thus requiring physical motion compensation systems or post-processing of data using complex algorithms to offset this. This can introduce additional risk and uncertainty. Of the two types of wind lidar, continuous-wave lidar- such as the ZephIR 300- has been shown to have very little susceptibility. Therefore, continuous-wave lidar lends itself to low cost installations with no mechanical or electronic post-processing if a suitable platform, such as Babcock’s new low-motion spar buoy, can be provided.