Following the success of Siemens Gamesa 's innovative turbines at the biggest offshore wind farm on the planet , it has been suggested that the 6 MW horizontal - axis wind turbine ( HAWT ) design still needs work . Geotechnical consultant Christ Golightly suggests the industry develops vertical - axis wind turbine ( MW ) designs to use alongside floating substructures instead . “ VAWTs are the most effective way of getting electrical power from kinetic energy in moving air , ” he said . LIDAR is tech of choice for wind feasibility and power curve tests Light Detection and Ranging ( LIDAR ) will become more popular than MET masts for offshore wind feasibility and power curve verification tests , a panel at this year 's Offshore Wind Conference said . Validation campaigns have found LIDAR is a cost - effective way to provide reliable financial data on a wind turbine 's power output . While LIDAR works best with short masts for onshore projects , offshore wind farms only require the LIDAR to provide data , said Alexandre Sauvage , CEO of LIDAR manufacturer Leosphere .
Following the deployment of Siemens Gamesa's innovative turbines at the biggest floating wind farm on the planet, it has been suggested that the 6 MW horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) design still needs work. Geotechnical consultant Christ Golightly suggests the industry develops vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs to use alongside floating substructures instead. “VAWTs are the most effective way of getting electrical power from kinetic energy in moving air,” he said. LIDAR is tech of choice for wind feasibility and power curve tests Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) will become more popular than MET masts for offshore wind feasibility and power curve verification tests, a panel at this year's Offshore Wind Conference said. Validation campaigns have found LIDAR is a cost-effective way to gather reliable financial data on a wind turbine's power output. While LIDAR works best with short masts for onshore projects, offshore wind projects only require the LIDAR to provide data, said Alexandre Sauvage, CEO of LIDAR manufacturer Leosphere.