Vaisala

Press release    

March 11, 2025 

Joint research effort of global wind energy actors enables more accurate offshore turbulence measurements for improved profitability of wind farms 

Accurate measurements of atmospheric turbulence enable durable and efficient wind turbine design as well as optimized wind farm operation. To advance this, Vaisala participated in a research consortium with global wind energy players to develop better algorithms that improve measurement accuracy of turbulence in offshore weather conditions.  

The research project, the POWSEIDOM JIP, led by France Energies Marines, aims to provide the industry with high-performance measurement and modelling tools for assessing turbulence at offshore wind energy sites. Such measurements and tools enable better design of offshore wind turbines and farms, making them safer and more efficient to operate. 

Lidar is the most suitable technology to understand wind conditions at sea  
Installing traditional met masts and anemometers offshore is often impractical due to the high costs of installation, operation, and maintenance. Lidar technology, which is both cost-effective and reliable, is fully certified and bankable for wind resource assessment at sea. However, there has been a need to develop proper algorithms to derive turbulence metrics from the lidar signal, as lidars have not been widely used to characterize atmospheric turbulence at sea in the past. 

Sites with a high potential for the development of floating wind turbines face challenges of atmospheric turbulence. Such turbulence corresponds to rapid variations in air speed and direction, generating vortex structures that induce considerable loads on wind turbines. As such, offshore measurements are required to validate the numerical models used to assess wind conditions and associated turbulence at sea to enable cost optimization, as well as safe and efficient operation of the wind farm. 

Gathering valuable data and learnings  
To gather data, the researchers used a Vaisala WindCube v2.1 profiling lidar at the research site at Planier Island. Located 9 km offshore, this site allowed them to capture undisturbed atmospheric events that represent the conditions encountered at floating offshore wind farm sites in the Mediterranean. At the end of the first 12 months of the research period, the measurements taken with lidar enabled them to compile a valuable set of data (mean winds and direction, turbulence intensity, shear, occurrence and intensity of low-layer jets).  

As a result of this work, the researchers were able to make recommendations for further calculating the turbulence forces induced on turbines. Such information is invaluable for optimizing system design and increasing the profitability of projects, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Floating lidar and turbulence intensity measurement 
At sea, lidars are generally deployed on buoys that are in continuous motion. Such motion has to be accurately taken into account to ensure more accurate measurements of wind conditions. For this, the project team also created research setting where a lidar was installed on a mobile platform reproducing the movements of a buoy deployed at sea.  

The measurements obtained were compared with those from a fixed lidar, and a preliminary version of a motion compensation algorithm for measuring turbulence was developed. These results were also published in an international peer-reviewed journal called Remote Sensing in April 2024. 

All in all, the research project provided valuable learnings and resulted in the development of more advanced measurement tools that enable more efficient offshore wind farm operations in the future. Work on the POWSEIDOM JIP is continuing as part of the DRACCAR-NEMO JIP started in 2023.  

Project partners: France Energies Marines, Centrale Méditerranée, Shell, Ifremer, Ocean Winds, EDF, Region Sud Province Alpes Côte D’Azur, Polemer Bretagne Atlantique, Polemer Méditerranée, and Vaisala. 

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More information for the media 
Panu Heikkinen, Senior Communications Specialist, Vaisala  
Tel. +358 40 559 4175 
panu.heikkinen@vaisala.com 
About Vaisala 
Vaisala is a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence for climate action. We equip our customers with devices and data to improve resource efficiency, drive energy transition, and care for the safety and well-being of people and societies worldwide. With almost 90 years of innovation and expertise, we employ a team of close to 2,500 experts committed to taking every measure for the planet. Vaisala series A shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange. 
www.vaisala.com