As informed by the North American Clean Energy, SgurrEnergy, engineering consultancy specialising in worldwide renewable energy projects, put into operation the first Offshore Risk Quantification Analysis (ORQA) platform this month in Hong Kong.
The platform installation was commissioned by Hong Kong Electric Company (HEC) within the framework of a one year long measurement campaign in the vicinity of the Lamma Island. The objective of the platform will be collecting environmental, meteorological, wave and tidal data for the purpose of preparatory stages for the planned construction of the Hong Kong’s first offshore wind farm.
According to the Project Manager, Charlie Briggs, the platform represents the last word of modern technology. It is outfitted with advanced technological solutions for data monitoring, including SgurrEnergy’s Galion Lidar. Namely, the Galion Lidar is a second generation laser-based device, with the ability to acquire measurements unreachable to other devices covering a 4 km range.
“ORQA is an alternative solution to costly offshore met masts which see the installation costs increase as the size of the mast increases, due to foundation requirements. The Galion Lidar offers the ability to scan both the full rotor and well above; as turbines get larger and rotors move to the regions of 160m to 180m in diameter, this ability becomes even more important,” Briggs pointed out.
Apart from installation, the range of services to be provided by the SgurrEnergy will include operation and maintenance activities to HEC during the monitoring period of one year.
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Offshore WIND staff, April 12, 2012; Image: sgurrenergy