The PGE Baltica company, which is part of the PGE group, which is responsible for the construction of wind farms in the Baltic Sea, has signed a contract with the Spanish company Eolos Floating LiDAR Solutions. It provides for the measurement of wind resources, waves and sea currents for the Baltica 1 investment.
In the second half of May 2022, research in the Baltic Sea commissioned by PGE will begin, for which Eolos will be responsible. They will last about two years. The Baltica 1 offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1 GW is expected to start producing energy at the beginning of the next decade. The project already has a site permit and conditions for connection to the transmission network.
– The two-year period of measurements will give us representative data on the meteorological conditions in the area intended for the construction of an offshore power plant – says Dariusz Lociński, president of the management board of PGE Baltica. – The results of the measurements will constitute invaluable knowledge for the next stages of the development of this project, in particular, necessary for the placement of the turbines so that their power is used in the most efficient way.
Laser on a floating buoy
In the measurement campaign for the Baltica 1 project, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology will be used – the light of the laser beam reflecting off air suspensions and returning to the device. The device itself will be mounted on a floating buoy. The analysis of the reflected signal makes it possible to estimate the speed of air masses passing over it.
source: PGE
The equipment used by Eolos allows you to perform wind tests at an altitude of over 200 meters above sea level. Additionally, sensors are mounted on the buoy to measure wave movements and sea currents.
Currently, the LiDAR system is being prepared for the implementation of the task for the Baltica 1 project at the Eolos plant in Barcelona. At the beginning of May, it will go to Władysławowo, where it will be assembled in the second half of May and installed at sea in the area designated for the construction of the wind farm.
PGE signed a contract for the current measurements in December 2021. In 2019, Eolos conducted the same research for PGE for the Baltica 3 project.