Buoy Loan Program Offers Opportunities for Continued Offshore Wind Resource Characterization

Dec. 22, 2016

The Energy Department's two AXYS WindSentinel buoys collect comprehensive meteorological and oceanographic data to support resource characterization for wind energy offshore. These buoys have been deployed by the Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in different regions of the United States, representing the first publicly available multi-seasonal hub-height data to be collected in U.S. coastal waters. The buoys consequently provide an important new opportunity to characterize the wind resource using observations in regions targeted for wind development. PNNL has launched a program to loan the buoys to qualified parties to support offshore wind resource characterization; applications are due January 27, 2017.