Forecast LIDAR

Our floating Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system, FORECAST, is designed to provide critical meteorological data for offshore wind farm developers safely, reliably and more cost-effectively than was previously possible.

FORECAST is based around Babcock’s low motion buoy, designed specifically to address the known adverse effects of motion on data integrity.  When teamed with the industry leading wind LiDAR systems, this approach provides exceptionally high data availability without compromising on accuracy or integrity.

FORECAST has demonstrated that it can withstand demanding offshore weather conditions all year round, measuring winds reaching 100km/h in waves more than 8m high, and continues to provide consistently high data availability.  As well as the platform design, Babcock developed an integrated power system supplied by photovoltaic panels and micro wind turbines installed on the buoy, plus a dual communication system to facilitate remote, autonomous operation of the platform.

As the industry develops its understanding and uses of wind resource data sets in analysing wake effects and turbulence intensity, the certainty underpinned by Babcock’s stable platform is delivering richer bankable data sets to our clients.