The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced the execution of two multi-year contracts to study the meteorological and oceanographic (“metocean”) conditions in the waters off the Atlantic coast of New York, called the New York Bight.
NYSERDA announced two multi-year contracts aimed at providing timely data to ensure offshore wind development is cost-effective and environmentally responsible.
Executing this multi-year project advances and supports Governor Cuomo’s Green New Deal, a nation-leading clean energy and jobs agenda that puts New York on a path to carbon neutrality through a globally unprecedented ramp-up of renewable energy including an increase of New York’s offshore wind target to 9,000 MW by 2035, up from 2,400 MW by 2030.
This announcement will result in metocean Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system(s) being mounted on buoys 20 miles from the shore in the New York Bight. LiDAR is remote sensing equipment that uses pulsed laser light to determine wind speeds. Each of the metocean buoys will be deployed for two years, potentially in multiple locations, to measure turbine hub-height wind speed and direction, wave and current measurements, as well as other environmental data.
“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.”
Better metocean characterization of the wind, wave, and ocean currents will also help increase certainty of development conditions which is valuable information for planning project layout, turbine siting and engineering. 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.
Sensors will provide data that will inform avian ecologists and marine biologists of the presence, frequency and distribution of birds, bats and marine mammals and will inform future environmental impact assessment studies for offshore wind. Environmental data is critical to understanding more about marine ecosystem function, timing and relative density of wildlife in the area, or underwater noise. Data collected will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis to encourage broad use and inform additional studies.
“This important initiative will provide essential information to better understand New York’s offshore resources and strategically tailor efforts to protect our economically important marine ecosystem,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Offshore wind energy has the potential to provide our communities with a major source of clean and affordable electricity, supporting Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, and the data generated from this study will help ensure we responsibly develop this important resource.
Contracts were awarded to:
- Ocean Tech Services: Will serve as a Floating LiDAR System Supplier (FLSS) and will be focused on permitting, hardware, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning the LiDAR system.
- DNV GL: Will serve as the Data Management and Analysis Contractor (DMAC) with the primary focus on data analysis, data storage, and data presentation.
Both companies will support the deployment of two floating LiDAR systems more than 20 miles off the Atlantic coast for a period of two years. The target date for deployment of both systems is May 2019 to begin collecting wind speed and direction within anticipated rotor swept zones, wave and current measurements, as well as other environmental data.
“By coupling lidar wind measurements and biological detection systems onto single buoy platforms, NYSERDA will be provided with a full suite of environmental assessment tools in an efficient and cost-effective package. This project award reflects a decade of effort by the Ocean Tech team towards advancing offshore wind along the U.S. east coast,” said Stephen O’Malley, President, Ocean Tech Services.
Richard Barnes, Executive Vice President for DNV GL Energy. added: “By hosting the offshore wind data for industry stakeholders and the public on our Veracity platform we hope to advance the offshore wind industry by providing clarity and transparency into the industry.”
Filed Under: News, Offshore wind, Policy
