Carbon Trust Delivers New York Floating LiDAR Plan

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has published “The Metocean Plan”, authored by the UK-based Carbon Trust, which was supported by Frazer Nash Consultancy. The plan aims to support developers and financiers with the deployment of floating Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) solutions.

The Carbon Trust said that, by building on experience gained over a decade working in the European market, it has generated guidance for NYSERDA on how to deploy cost effective wind resource measurement technology to generate bankable data to improve project financing of future offshore wind developments.

Floating LiDARs are a proven technology which delivers cost savings of up to 90 per cent compared to traditional fixed met masts, the Carbon Trust stated.

NYSERDA is the lead agency coordinating offshore wind development on behalf of New York State, which will support the ambitious Clean Energy Standard to meet 50 per cent of New York’s electricity needs with renewable sources by 2030. In support of the Governor’s proposal, NYSERDA continues to work closely with coastal communities and the fishing and maritime industries to identify offshore wind sites to be included in New York State’s Offshore Wind Master Plan.

Recommendations detailed in the newly-released plan cover all aspects of deployment including project management set up and operations and maintenance of the devices themselves. Site specific elements such as New York permitting requirements and the current lack of offshore met masts to validate a floating LiDAR in New York waters are also considered.

The plan draws on recent publications from the OWA, including the OWA Floating LiDAR Recommended Practice.

NYSERDA also sought public feedback on the plan to ensure the final plan reflected views of wider stakeholders.

The Metocean Plan is available online at NYSERDA’s website.