Floating Lidar Deployed

On 21 November 2023, the Salamander floating offshore wind project initiated its metocean measurement campaign with the deployment of floating LiDAR and wave buoy equipment at the project site off the northeast coast of Scotland. Salamander, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group, and Subsea7, is using these floating systems to collect detailed meteorological and oceanographic data needed to progress the design of its proposed floating wind farm. The action is described as the project having “launched floating LiDAR and wave buoys as part of the metocean campaign,” indicating that the hardware was placed in the water and the data-gathering phase had begun by the time of the announcement. The metocean survey is being conducted by Fugro and is planned to run for approximately twelve months, providing a continuous dataset on wind, wave, and environmental conditions across seasonal cycles. According to the source, the results will generate insights that will inform the project’s design, underlining the importance of this deployment as a foundational early-development milestone rather than a routine survey. By opting for floating LiDAR technology and associated wave buoys, the Salamander partners are able to characterise site conditions with a flexible, purpose-built measurement solution tailored to a floating wind environment, supporting subsequent engineering decisions and permitting work for the 100 MW demonstration-scale project.