London Array wind farm officially opens

On 4 July 2013, the London Array wind farm – the United Kingdom’s largest – officially opened. We helped make this GBP 1.8 billion project possible by developing a complete Metocean forecasting system for it.

Accurate Metocean forecasts were vital for planning and installing the wind farm’s foundations and turbines. As part of the project, we deployed, maintained and operated three wave and current buoys and a tide gauge equipped with iridium satellite communication. This allowed for online data transfer. We used this data to feed hydrodynamic models that predicted wave and current conditions. Combined with meteorological models, this provided a complete five-day forecast of:

• wind
• air temperature
• sea temperature
• visibility
• lightning risk
• cloud height
• water levels
• wave heights
• currents

Easily accessible via the internet and email, these forecasts helped minimise delays during the construction process. They also ensured that operations could be executed safely and within the predefined operational criteria.

The London Array project is funded by a consortium of Dong Energy, E.ON and the Masdar Initiative. Once fully operational, the wind farm’s 175 turbines will generate enough energy to power half a million homes.