AXYS wins contract for WindSentinel floating LiDAR system in US

AXYS Technologies has secured a contract from an unnamed Eastern US energy firm to supply a WindSentinel floating LiDAR system in the country.

Expected to be installed in the first quarter of 2015, the system will be utilized as part of a research and development project supporting offshore wind generation.

The WindSentinel system will collect wind speed and direction data up to heights of 200m along with metocean data, atmospheric pressure and air temperature.

AXYS said the information will help the project stakeholders understand the wind resource available at the proposed development location and lay the groundwork for future offshore wind development at a commercial scale in the region.

The WindSentinel is a wind resource assessment buoy that utilizes LiDAR to correctly measure wind speed and wind direction offshore at turbine hub-height and across the blade span.

AXYS international accounts manager Chad MacIsaac said: "One of the key objectives of this project is demonstrate how wind power can be generated offshore in the United states at a cost comparable to conventional generation sources.

"AXYS is pleased to support this objective by the application of floating LiDAR technology, which reduces the cost of offshore wind resource assessment by a factor of ten."

AXYS designs, manufactures, distributes and maintains remote environmental data acquisition, processing and telemetry systems.

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Image: The WindSentinel floating LiDAR system will be utilized as part of a research and development project supporting offshore wind generation. Photo: Courtesy of AXYS Technologies Inc.