The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has launched a multi-year measurement campaign, MeteOR, in collaboration with the German Weather Service (DWD) and Fugro Norway. The initiative supports Germany’s goal of reaching 70GW of offshore wind capacity by 2045 by collecting data on wind and sea conditions in an area approximately 280 kilometres off the North Sea coast.
As part of the three-year campaign, Fugro Norway has deployed two Seawatch measuring buoys and anchored two oceanographic measurement systems to the seabed. The seabed sensors and buoy instruments record data on waves, ocean currents, temperature, salinity, pressure, and oxygen content. The buoys are also equipped with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, which uses laser beams to measure wind speeds at heights of up to 250 metres.
The collected meteorological and oceanographic data will be used to assess potential offshore wind farm sites at the outer edge of Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
