Vancouver Island-designed buoy first to measure offshore B.C. winds for energy potential – Campbell River Mirror

Data collected from buoy could help shift rural, Indigenous communities away from diesel

The University of Victoria has developed a buoy to measure offshore wind resources for their potential to shift rural and First Nations communities away from fossil fuel reliance.

The large, bright yellow buoy, unveiled Wednesday morning (Nov. 10) at Point Hope Shipyard in Victoria West, is a project of UVic’s Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery and manufactured by Sidney’s AXYS Technologies. It’s designed to measure wind data using laser-based LiDAR (light detection and ranging) antennas previously only used in B.C. in a land-based application on Haida Gwaii.

The mobile antennae send eye-safe lasers as far as 200 metres into the coastal sky, explained Curran Crawford, institute co-director. The lasers will scatter to determine wind speed and ultimately provide information on the viability of offshore wind farms or carbon capture projects.

Read More: https://www.campbellrivermirror.com/news/vancouver-island-designed-buoy-first-to-measure-offshore-b-c-winds-for-energy-potential/