Tideland Lights Up Germany’s FINO1 Research Platform

The Forschungs- und Entwicklungszentrum Fachhochschule Kiel GmbH has chosen Tideland’s Nova-65HI LED lanterns to mark its FINO1 research platform in the North Sea approximately 45 kilometres offshore from Borkum.

Tideland Lights Up Germany's FINO1 Research Platform

The research platform is in the immediate vicinity of Alpha Ventus, the first German offshore wind farm and it was built to measure and analyse ambient conditions (meteorology, hydrology, etc.) and the impact of offshore wind turbines upon the environment.

Four of Tideland’s new high-intensity Nova-65HI lanterns with a range of 10NM have been installed to warn shipping in the area.

FINO1 is one of a number of German research platforms in the North and Baltic Seas for the investigation of environmental conditions which might be conducive to the exploitation of wind power offshore. The comprehensive platform programme encompasses meteorological, technical, oceanographic and biological measurements and analyses completed by a wide variety of project partners.

The Forschungs- und Entwicklungszentrum Fachhochschule Kiel GmbH (R&D centre of Kiel University of Applied Sciences) was appointed in 2010 to manage FINO1 for a term of five years. Operation of the platform and the conduct of research projects is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The comprehensive physical, hydrological, chemical and biological research data generated from the platform will be a key source of information, both to licensing authorities and to potential operators of offshore wind turbines.

Press Release, April 15, 2014; Image: tideland