Offshore operational safety improved by Equans’ Meteorological Monitoring Module
ZX Lidar technology has been integrated into Equans’ Meteorological Monitoring Module over the past decade to improve both safety and efficiency of offshore wind farm operations.
The module provides real-time environmental data from offshore substations and the optional feature to integrate ZX Lidars technology into the module. This enhances its capabilities by remotely providing highly accurate wind data above the platform.
Accuracy is important for ensuring the safety of helicopter landings and takeoffs on offshore platforms. Challenging conditions require the data at use to be as reliable as possible.
Alain Goddyn, section manager marine at Equans, said: “Over the past nine years, Equans and ZX Lidars have seen significant demand for our Meteorological Monitoring Module with integrated ZX 300M wind Lidar. Combining expertise in offshore engineering and design with an industry-leading wind measurement system delivers something unique to a challenging market.”
Existing offshore substations have been used to deploy the ZX 300M wind Lidar using infrastructure already in place to reduce setup costs and complexity. Safety for personnel and optimum turbine performance can be achieved using the Lidar-enabled approach.
The real-time wind data from 10m to 300m data collected is actionable and allows owners and operators to maintain operations, helping keep them efficient, safe, and cost-effective.
Goddyn added: “Offshore wind farms face many challenges, and we believe this technological advancement provides an innovative solution to enhance safety, efficiency, and optimisation at offshore sites. We are delighted the industry recognises this as a cost-effective way to add value to offshore substations.”
Continual power curve assessments are supported by the Lidar data sets, benchmarking turbine performance against expected output. By having the ability to detect anomalies early, operators can plan proactive maintenance which decreases down time and optimises resource allocation.
