Limerick Designed Buoy To Identify Ireland's Offshore Sites

Green Rebel deploys new technology to help developers identify location for wind farms

Green Rebel - an Irish owner company enabling offshore wind developers to select the optimal locations for wind farms - has announced the deployment of new ocean-based technology to measure wind speeds in the Atlantic Ocean and further afield.

The IDS Floating Lidar Buoy is designed to operate autonomously at sea and uses laser technology to profile the speed of winds at heights of up to 300 metres as well as delivering data on waves, ocean currents and water quality. The data captured by the buoy is sent back to shore, where it can be interpreted by a team of specialists at Green Rebel’s dedicated MetOcean team in Limerick.

As Ireland prepares to embrace offshore wind as a new source of renewable energy, Green Rebel is working with developers to identify where best to locate wind farms in the seas around Ireland. Information gathered from the buoys can be integrated with other data generated by Green Rebel’s fleet of ships and aircraft, which has already generated gigabits of data from some of the most extensive survey work ever undertaken off the Irish coast.

The IDS Floating Lidar Buoy Mk-II was developed in Limerick by the team at IDS Monitoring, a company with 30 years of experience in the operation of offshore buoys. The company has been responsible for the deployment of 300 buoys in 20 countries.

IDS Monitoring is a part of the Green Rebel group of companies, owned by businessman Pearse Flynn.

The IDS Floating Lidar Buoy Mk-II offers more power and more buoyancy than other buoy operating globally and allows this operate year round in the most extreme sites in North Atlantic The systems offers full redundant systems to ensure the reliable, long-term delivery of accurate data. The information gathered by the buoy can be captured and dispatched on a second-by-second basis, offering a full wind profile for each location where it is deployed no matter how remote.

The product has been in development since 2018, with commercial development commencing in spring of this year.

John Wallace, CEO of IDS Monitoring, is an engineer with 30 years of experience in offshore data acquisition, and led the team which developed the IDS Floating Lidar Buoy. He says,

“As developers begin the process of selecting the optimum location for their investment, the availability of quality data is key. The seas off the Irish coast provide incredible opportunities, but those investing need to know where they can secure the best return. The team at IDS, supported by Green Rebel,  will be able to use data from the IDS Floating Lidar Buoy to inform that decision making process through intelligent automation and cutting edge lidar technology. We have used our experience in Ireland to develop a technology that can be used not just off our shores but also around the world, as producers embrace off-shore wind as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.”

Offshore wind development will be instrumental to Ireland meeting its legally binding European decarbonisation commitments for 2030 and 2050. The Programme for Government sets out clear targets to reach 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, rising to 30GW by 2050. Green Rebel is engaged with a number of off shore developers to conduct detailed topographical and environmental survey work.