Fugro deploys wind lidar buoys for Denmark's energy islands project

Dutch geo-data specialist Fugro NV (AMS:FUR) said it will deploy four wind lidar buoys to sea to take measurements needed to support Denmark’s plan to construct energy islands in its waters.

Fugro will install and operate its SEAWATCH lidar buoys at two sites, one in the North Sea and one in the Baltic sea. There, the Danish government wants to build artificial islands that can collect and transmit up to 5 GW of offshore wind power from the surrounding wind farms. The plan is to increase the islands’ capacity to 10 GW at later stages.

Fugro is now working under a new contract with Danish state-owned transmission system operator Energinet, it said. The Dutch company, alongside Sweden-based MMT, was previously hired by Energinet to survey and map the seabed in the North Sea.

Fugro said its buoys will record continuous wind measurements for a minimum of one year to support wind-resource mapping for the two islands, and the engineering and design of the future wind farms.

The SEAWATCH wind lidar buoy is capable of recording wind measurements up to 250 metres (820 ft) above sea level, and wave measurement and current profiles down to the seabed, according to Fugro. On this specific project, the buoys will be fitted with sensors to capture geo-data on environmental impact parameters, including bat monitoring, added the company.

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