As part of a unique collaboration between Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center and researchers at the Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI), Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, a new research platform intended for Lake Michigan is on schedule to arrive in Muskegon tonight.
The 17-by-17-foot buoy will help researchers collect real-time data on a number of factors, including information on wind, water quality and the flight paths of birds and bats over the Great Lakes. The platform, which will spend a week in Muskegon Lake for trials before moving into Lake Michigan for data collection, will help determine whether off-shore wind farms are a viable energy source.
“There’s significant interest in off-shore wind energy for the future, but the question is, is that viable?” said Arn Boezaart, director of MAREC. “We have a lot of statistical data from satellite modelling, but little real time data. What we’ll be doing is real scientific research.”
The research platform will employ LiDAR, a new laser technology that works by aiming a beam of infrared light vertically, to measure the direction, speed, temperature and strength of the wind at multiple heights simultaneously. The platform is also unique in its mobility, a significant benefit compared to stationary wind towers, which Boezaart said tend to be expensive, politically unpopular and technically-difficult “eyesores.”
“This is very innovative,” Boezaart said.
The $3.3 million research platform was funded through a number of grants: $1.3 million from the Michigan Public Service Commission, $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, $260,000 from the Phoenix Energy Institute at the University of Michigan, $250,000 from Wisconsin Energy and $30,000 from the Sierra Club.
Read the full story at www.lanthorn.com.
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