Advancing Offshore Wind Farm Operations with Lidar Tech
POWER & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Advancing Offshore Wind Farm Operations with Lidar Tech

For nearly a decade, the integration of ZX Lidars technology into Equans' Meteorological Monitoring Module has played a pivotal role in improving the safety and efficiency of offshore wind farm operations. This sophisticated module provides crucial real-time environmental data from offshore substations. The optional feature to integrate ZX Lidars technology into the module significantly enhances its capabilities by remotely providing highly accurate wind data above the platform. This level of accuracy is particularly important for ensuring the safety of helicopter landings and takeoffs on offshore platforms, where challenging conditions demand reliable data.

The ZX 300M wind Lidar is strategically deployed on existing offshore substations, utilising infrastructure already in place to minimise additional setup costs and complexity. This Lidar-enabled approach enhances safety for personnel whilst also providing the opportunity to optimise turbine performance and site operations. By providing real-time, actionable wind data from 10m to 300m the system enables owners and operators to maintain operations that are efficient, safe, and cost-effective.

The Lidar data also supports continual power curve assessments, benchmarking turbine performance against expected output. Early detection of performance anomalies allows operators to plan and execute maintenance proactively, reducing unplanned downtime and optimising resource allocation.

Alain Goddyn, Section Manager Marine at Equans commented: “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. 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.”

ZX Lidars provides industry-leading wind lidar products, ZX 300, ZX 300M and ZX TM for wind energy and meteorological applications. These Lidars deliver accurate wind measurements in both onshore and offshore applications at measurement heights / ranges across the full swept area of the blades of modern wind turbines, and beyond. With more than 30 million hours of operation in the field and over 10,000 deployments (and counting), ZX Lidars has pioneered the use of Lidar in the wind industry. The company is proud of the many world firsts it has achieved with customers including: upwind measurements from a turbine nacelle, turbine wake studies, offshore deployments of both fixed and floating wind lidar, an industry-accepted validation process, re-financing and re-powering of a wind farm, successful demonstration of measurement accuracy in a wind tunnel and total wind project financing from a lidar without need for a met mast.

Equans, a subsidiary of the Bouygues group, is a world leader in energy & services, operating in over 20 countries. With a historical footprint and a workforce of nearly 90,000 highly skilled professionals, the company has developed a strong foundation of technical expertise. Equans excels in areas such as HVAC, Cooling & Fire Protection, Facility Management, Digital & ICT, Electrical, Mechanical & Robotics, offering a unique combination of capabilities. With its deep understanding of various industries, Equans is well-positioned to support clients through modernization and sustainable development transitions.

For nearly a decade, the integration of ZX Lidars technology into Equans' Meteorological Monitoring Module has played a pivotal role in improving the safety and efficiency of offshore wind farm operations. This sophisticated module provides crucial real-time environmental data from offshore substations. The optional feature to integrate ZX Lidars technology into the module significantly enhances its capabilities by remotely providing highly accurate wind data above the platform. This level of accuracy is particularly important for ensuring the safety of helicopter landings and takeoffs on offshore platforms, where challenging conditions demand reliable data. The ZX 300M wind Lidar is strategically deployed on existing offshore substations, utilising infrastructure already in place to minimise additional setup costs and complexity. This Lidar-enabled approach enhances safety for personnel whilst also providing the opportunity to optimise turbine performance and site operations. By providing real-time, actionable wind data from 10m to 300m the system enables owners and operators to maintain operations that are efficient, safe, and cost-effective. The Lidar data also supports continual power curve assessments, benchmarking turbine performance against expected output. Early detection of performance anomalies allows operators to plan and execute maintenance proactively, reducing unplanned downtime and optimising resource allocation. Alain Goddyn, Section Manager Marine at Equans commented: “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. 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.” ZX Lidars provides industry-leading wind lidar products, ZX 300, ZX 300M and ZX TM for wind energy and meteorological applications. These Lidars deliver accurate wind measurements in both onshore and offshore applications at measurement heights / ranges across the full swept area of the blades of modern wind turbines, and beyond. With more than 30 million hours of operation in the field and over 10,000 deployments (and counting), ZX Lidars has pioneered the use of Lidar in the wind industry. The company is proud of the many world firsts it has achieved with customers including: upwind measurements from a turbine nacelle, turbine wake studies, offshore deployments of both fixed and floating wind lidar, an industry-accepted validation process, re-financing and re-powering of a wind farm, successful demonstration of measurement accuracy in a wind tunnel and total wind project financing from a lidar without need for a met mast. Equans, a subsidiary of the Bouygues group, is a world leader in energy & services, operating in over 20 countries. With a historical footprint and a workforce of nearly 90,000 highly skilled professionals, the company has developed a strong foundation of technical expertise. Equans excels in areas such as HVAC, Cooling & Fire Protection, Facility Management, Digital & ICT, Electrical, Mechanical & Robotics, offering a unique combination of capabilities. With its deep understanding of various industries, Equans is well-positioned to support clients through modernization and sustainable development transitions.

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