MAREC readies for third research season of offshore wind study
A ‘boatload of data’ will be collected during the third and final
research season of Grand Valley State University’s Michigan
Alternative and Renewable Energy Center’s offshore wind assessment.
The research buoy that collects data for the study will be placed
about seven miles offshore northwest of the Muskegon Channel in Lake
Michigan within the next two weeks. It will remain in the lake until
December, where it will continuously collect data about offshore wind
characteristics, along with meteorological, marine and avian data, to
help assess the viability of commercial-scale wind energy generation
in the Great Lakes.
“Over the last two years, we’ve collected wind data in locations
that were previously inaccessible,” said Arn Boezaart, director of
MAREC. “This year, we’re keeping the buoy closer to the shore to
collect data that we predict will reinforce the data we collected from
last year’s season. We’ll end up with a great representation of wind
characteristics on Lake Michigan that can contribute to potential wind
energy development.”
The three-year study began in 2011, when the buoy went through a
validation study on Muskegon Lake for two months, followed by two
months of trials on Lake Michigan. During the second year of research
in 2012, the buoy was placed 35 miles west of the Muskegon Channel at
the mid-lake plateau in Lake Michigan and captured data at elevations
between 90 and 175 meters above the lake surface.
The buoy uses laser pulse technology to capture wind
measurements, which is the first time the technique has ever been used
on a mobile research platform in open water. “Throughout this study,
the technology has demonstrated an ability to capture quality wind
measurement data as much as 98 percent of the time,” said Boezaart.
“We are getting excellent results.”
Students and faculty in Grand Valley’s Padnos College of
Engineering and Computing are analyzing data to determine the amount
of power that could be created if wind turbines were installed in Lake
Michigan. “We literally have boatloads of data because it’s recorded
in one-second intervals,” said Boezaart. “Grand Valley is providing
important leadership in an area of science and technology,
demonstrating groundbreaking technology, and generating unique and
large data sets.”
Project partners include researchers from Michigan Technological
University, who are studying wind turbulence; Michigan Natural
Features Inventory, a component of the Michigan State University
Extension program who are studying bird and bat activity and confirmed
for the first time ever last summer that bats do fly over the Great
Lakes; and the University of Michigan, who are conducting research on
large data sets.
While federal grant funds end this year, Boezaart said other
opportunities are being explored for the buoy to continue to capture
data in different locations throughout the Great Lakes.
About the wind assessment project
The primary objective of the Lake Michigan offshore wind
assessment project is to gain a better understanding of offshore wind
characteristics and dynamics, as well as potential wind energy. Other
related physical, biological and environmental characteristics related
to Great Lakes wind have been evaluated, including water quality
characteristics, the water and air boundary layer, and bird and bat
activity. Data collected will be used by NOAA’s National Weather
Service in preparation of its marine forecasts.
About the WindSentinel research buoy
The research buoy, one of two such research platforms in the
world, is a six-ton, 20-by-10 foot boat-shaped structure that can
measure wind characteristics up to 175 meters above the water using
advanced laser pulse and Doppler wind sensing technology in remote
locations. It was constructed by AXYS Technologies of British
Columbia, and is equipped with a Vindicator laser wind sensor
manufactured by Catch the Wind Inc. of Virginia.
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