Petrobras will use laser beams to measure wind speed and direction

Petrobras announced last week that it plans to use laser beams to measure wind speed and direction. The idea is that these data will be used to improve the operation of the wind turbines maintained by this state-owned company in North Rio Grande do.

The total investment of the 2.0 version of this device reaches R $11.3 million, known as the offshore wind assessment remote buoy.
This technology can also capture meteorological variables such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. In addition to oceanographic variables such as waves and currents. All of these data are crucial for determining the potential for wind energy production in a region.

We expect Bravo 2.0 to meet the needs of Petrobras for measuring the potential of offshore wind power in Brazil. This is an important lever for us to promote this new energy, "Carlos Travassos, Director of Engineering, Technology, and Innovation at Petrobras, said in a statement.

The working principle of Bravo 2.0 and how to measure wind
The equipment weighs 7 tons, has a diameter of 4 meters, a height of 4 meters, and is powered by solar modules. In the new version, an algorithm specifically created for this project corrects the collected information based on positional changes caused by waves and currents.

Bravo 2.0 has also been expanded to accommodate two LiDAR sensors instead of one. This type of remote sensor measures the properties of reflected light and allows you to estimate the distance to the object. This improves the collection of data transmitted via satellite to cloud servers for later analysis.

Bravo 2.0 will be launched 20 kilometers from the coast of Rio Grande do Nord, with the support of the Brazilian Navy and the Intersal consortium operating the Black Salanca Salt Terminal.

The testing and measurement activities will continue until March 2024. The information collected by the buoy will be compared with the reference data captured by a fixed LiDAR installed in the same terminal. The idea is to verify the functionality and reliability of equipment measurements.

Source: Laser Network