WindSentinel Survives Major Storm off Portugal

AXYS Technologies Inc (AXYS) said that the EDP Inovação (EDPi)  WindSentinel floating LiDAR system has survived a major storm that ravaged  the coast of Portgual near Viana do Castelo on October 16, 2014. Enduring  gale force winds with gusts of over 90 km/hr and waves the size of  three-story buildings (10 metres high), the WindSentinel remained  on-station, fully operational with 100% data availability.

"We selected the WindSentinel for our Demowfloat campaign following a strict  selection process that included performance under severe weather like that  experienced off the coast of Portugal.  Its performance during this storm  validated our initial assessment," said Carlos Martin Rivals, Director of  the Windfloat Atlantic Project at EDP. “We were particularly pleased that  the WindSentinel operated normally and kept generating wind assessment data  during this big storm."

“This incident demonstrates the capacity of the WindSentinel to maintain  performance during periods of extreme weather conditions,” said Terry Tarle,  CEO of AXYS Technologies. “The WindSentinel has continued to live up to its  design specifications and collect wind resource assessment data during  long-term deployments in extremely hostile marine environments.”

A similar event occurred when Hurricane Sandy hit the WindSentinel deployed  on Lake Michigan in 2012. Similarly the WindSentinel ran continuously with  100% data collection and performance through gusts of 107 km/hr winds and 10  metre waves.