May 30, 2013

Pioneering system for measuring offshore wind farms set up in Badalona



The Neptune project, launched by KIC InnoEnergy, the UPC, the IREC and others, can reduce the costs of offshore wind energy

Neptune, a pioneering system that performs offshore wind measurements, has begun to operate today at the Petroleum Bridge in Badalona. It consists of an eOLOS buoy to measure velocity profiles and wind direction high above sea level, and NEPTool, a tool that predicts wind speed, sea currents and waves in the short and long term with high spatial and temporal resolution.

KIC InnoEnergy is a consortium comprising the Institute for Energy Research of Catalonia (IREC), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya • BarcelonaTech (UPC), the Energy, Environment and Technology Research Centre (CIEMAT) in Madrid, GasNatural Fenosa and other organisations. All of these organisations, the University of Stuttgart (SWE) and the company Solucions d'Enginyeria Marítima Operacionals (SIMO) developed and promoted this revolutionary project, which will reduce the costs of offshore wind energy. Knowledge of weather conditions at the exact location where an offshore wind farm is to be located reduces the financial risk of the operation.