Digitalisation and data monitoring dominate developments in floating offshore wind
Published 12 Oct 2022 (updated 7 Feb 2024) ·
Building floating offshore wind farms in deep, stormy waters is incredibly challenging
Harnessing the power of digitalisation and data monitoring is crucial to meeting these challenges
Norwegian companies have already made great strides here
The amount of lighting needed at a wind farm is far greater than you might imagine. A typical offshore wind project has 5 000 or more lights.
Glamox is digitalising offshore lighting, providing operators with the right light, in the right place, at the right time.
Glamox’s cloud-based IoT solution gives operators complete control and provides smart, connected and energy-efficient lighting. It reduces energy use by as much as 90 per cent – cutting costs and increasing sustainability.
“By digitalising offshore lighting, we are bringing something new to the table.”
— Ole Petter Andresen, Director Commercial Management, Marine and Energy Applications and Products, Glamox Group
A large number of operations take place at wind farms at any given time. SCADA+ from Origo Solutions provides a complete overview of ongoing operations.
“I call it a vacuum cleaner of data. It vacuums all the other subsystems, categorises all the data, and systemises it into one interface.”
— Rune Reinersten, COO, Origo Solutions
SCADA+ is flexible, scalable and suitable for use at all types of wind farms – floating, bottom-fixed and land-based – as well as for other types of renewable energy production.
Other challenges include coexistence with wildlife
Spoor’s AI technology tracks and detects birds near wind farms.
Spoor’s digital dashboard provides an overview of a wind farm’s biodiversity impact.
This includes data such as the number of birds, collisions over time and fluctuations in the presence of populations.
The data is crucial to compliance and impact reporting to the authorities. The AI technology gathers data and improves monitoring algorithms continuously.
“Humans in a boat or plane can only monitor bird activity for a short time due to weather, accessibility and labour rules. While a consultant can work for a few days, our technology can be out there continuously for years at a time. This increases the data-gathering window a hundredfold.”
– Ask Helseth, CEO and co-founder, Spoor
By automating data collection, Spoor avoids the costly downsides of human observation.
It’s not only wildlife in the air that needs consideration – the same applies under water
SUBC3D has designed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for deep sea inspection.
The company is now developing a specialised subsea monitoring system for FOW.
Data from the ROV is transferred to a 3D model and can be used to monitor subsea cables, structures, anchoring and wildlife at wind farms.
“The benefit of having a resident unit at each turbine lets operators conduct subsea surveys every day as opposed to as needed. The data can be used to resolve an issue before it becomes a serious one.”
– Einar Magnus Mjåtvedt-Fiskaaen, CTO, SUBC3D
Floating offshore wind platforms are constantly moving – making it challenging to get people and equipment on and off
Uptime International has designed an intelligent gangway system for safe transfer of personnel and cargo from vessels to floating offshore wind turbines.
With an intelligent assisted landing function, the system learns each time it performs a landing. The AI improves the next landing at the same location. This makes docking faster and safer, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions from support vessels – and costs.
As you can see, Norwegian companies use the latest technology to boost safety, protect nature and workers, bring down costs and shrink the floating wind industry’s environmental footprint
Take a deep dive into Norway's offshore wind industry
Norway has competitive and natural advantages in offshore wind, particularly floating wind, and is an attractive partner in large-scale projects. Click to read articles, discover solution providers and find events where you can meet Norwegian companies.