French floating LiDAR developer Akrocean has deployed a WINDSEA buoy at the Fécamp met mast as part of the type 2 validation process under the OWA Carbon Trust Roadmap.
WINDSEA is a hybrid LiDAR (wave and solar energy) stabilised and monitored from an onshore control center, according to Matthieu Blandin, Akrocean’s COO.
Akrocean reached an agreement to deploy the WINDSEA buoy with the developers of the Fécamp offshore wind project via DNV GL, the certification body for the validation process.
The wind farm is being developed by Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises, a consortium comprising EDF EN, Enbridge and WPD Offshore.
Bertrand Allanic , Director of the Fécamp offshore wind project, said: “We are creating an industrial sector in France, so it is a great satisfaction to enable the rise of companies’ skills present in the value chain of the sector. The creation and development of AKROCEAN fall within this approach and our teams are pleased to contribute to the emergence of a new player in the Marine Renewable Energy ecosystem.”
The next step for Akrocean is the type 2 validation trial tests of the platform, according to OWA Carbon Trust Roadmap. Equipped with two LiDARs; Zephir and Leosphere, the buoy is installed off the Fécamp coast for a six-month wind measurement campaign.
Maxime Bellorge , Project Manager and Sales Director at Akrocean, said: “This stage, under control of DNV GL, will confirm our ability to provide bankable data to project developers and will enable us to expand our prospection to European and international contractors .”
Akrocean entered the floating LiDAR market in 2017 by winning a public call for tenders from Météo France for a one-year wind measurement campaign on the site of the future offshore wind farm off the Oléron coast.