SOLUTE will carry out the installation and maintenance of a 3D LIDAR to measure offshore wind resource in Artminza, through collaboration with BIMEP
Last June, SOLUTE signed a contract with BIMEP (Biscay Marine Energy Platform) for the supply, installation, and maintenance of a 3D LIDAR to measure offshore wind resource at the marine energy testing platform in Artminza (Basque Country). Thanks to our experience in wind measurement campaigns, meteorological instruments installation, and wind resource studies, SOLUTE has been able to offer a comprehensive work plan to meet BIMEP’s needs.
About the collaboration
BiMEP is an infrastructure for testing marine energy capture prototypes and auxiliary equipment in open sea, located off the coast of Armintza. Operating since June 2015, BiMEP offers technology developers an area with suitable wave and wind resource to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of various concepts, as well as their safety before moving to full-scale commercial operations. This public initiative is 75% owned by the Basque Energy Agency as the majority partner, and 25% by the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE).
Objectives
Given the large number and types of wind turbines that BIMEP plans to test operationally on its platform, it needs a complete characterization of the wind resource in its offshore area. Measurements will be required at different heights and distances along the main axis of the study area to understand the turbulence and wind conditions that will govern the operation of the wind turbines.
Technology involved
The proposed LIDAR system (Windcube 200s from VAISALA) is based on emitting light pulses, from which, knowing the concentration of particles in the atmosphere around the study area, it is possible to measure the radial and tangential components of the wind (with reference to the direction of the beam).
From these data, the horizontal wind speed and direction are reconstructed, which will be the variables that determine the available wind resource. Additionally, controlling the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, precipitation, etc.) at the LIDAR’s position provides additional valuable data to correlate with data availability at all times.
Wind Cube 200s VAISALA
Location
The selected location for installing the equipment ensures the quality of the measurement campaign and accessibility to the LIDAR during periodic maintenance tasks. Additionally, this location allows a vision horizon of more than 30º of arc (centered on the target area), enables the first measurement point to coincide with the start of the study area and, given the LIDAR’s range, allows sampling of the entire area longitudinally along the coast.
SOLUTE's contribution
The management of the equipment installation tasks, design, and manufacture of the support platform, field operations, LIDAR maintenance, and advice during the measurement campaign will be carried out by SOLUTE’s wind resource and meteorology team. Our wind resource software, Furow, will be used to transform LIDAR data (in .nc format) into useful tabular data for wind resource estimation.
For this project, BiMEP has received public funding for Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructures under the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
