UMaine offshore wind meter eyes budding market
The University of Maine-led team developing plans for an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Maine has designed a meter for measuring offshore wind speeds, a tool researchers say could develop into its own business.
The Bangor Daily News reported the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composite Center has designed a buoy-based light detection system that can gauge wind speeds at up to 600 feet above the water's surface.
The center's director, Habib Dagher, told the paper that researchers hope to launch the first version of the system in late May or early June.
The buoy system, about 10 feet in diameter, was designed in partnership with the Vermont-based company NRG Systems and uses light detecting and ranging technology, or LiDAR, to make its measurements, the paper reported.
As researchers around the world look to develop offshore wind projects, Dagher said the new measuring tool could find its own role in the budding industry by providing the wind survey data that's needed to determine optimal locations for offshore wind farms.
Other companies around the world are developing similar systems, but Dagher told the paper that a successful launch of its first LiDAR buoy could lead to a product line that would sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million per unit.
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