The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has contracted DNV GL and Ocean Tech Services to study the metocean conditions in the New York Bight area.
Under the two multi-year contracts, the companies will support the deployment of two floating LiDAR systems mounted on buoys more than 20 miles off the Atlantic coast for a period of two years.
Ocean Tech Services will serve as the Floating LiDAR System Supplier (FLSS) and will be responsible for permitting, hardware, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning the system.
DNV GL is the Data Management and Analysis Contractor (DMAC) in the project and will focus primarily on data analysis, storage and presentation.
The deployment of both systems is expected by May when they will start collecting wind speed and direction within anticipated rotor swept zones, wave and current measurements, as well as other environmental data.
The sensors will also provide data about the presence, frequency and distribution of birds, bats and marine mammals and will inform future environmental impact assessment studies for offshore wind.
Better metocean characterization of the wind, wave, and ocean currents will help increase the certainty of development conditions which is valuable for planning project layout, turbine siting and engineering, NYSERDA said, emphasizing that more efficient design of offshore wind sites will help maximize renewable energy output, delivering more clean energy to the electric grid in a smaller physical and environmental footprint.
“As New York works to become a national hub for offshore wind, access to better metocean and environmental data will further advance offshore wind projects in the most informed and responsible manner possible,” said Alicia Barton , President and CEO, NYSERDA.
“Deploying this data collection technology will help protect the state’s coastal resources and marine environment and is a significant step towards meeting Governor Cuomo’s offshore wind and clean energy goals.”
According to NYSERDA, executing the project advances and supports Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Green New Deal. Earlier this month, Cuomo called for 9,000MW of offshore wind energy to be developed in New York by 2035, which is the quadruple of the current target of having 2,400MW installed by 2030.
To remind, NYSERDA issued the state’s first large-scale offshore wind solicitation in November last year, seeking 800MW or more of new projects. The first offshore wind development contracts are expected in spring this year.