Power plant products |
First 21-200 m wind Lidar IEC Classification achieved
ZX Lidar has released what it says is an ‘evolved’ product, its global release of ZX 300e and the world’s first 21-200 m IEC Classification at independent test sites of wind engineering consultants with the best possible final accuracy class, and standard uncertainty of 0% at all heights.
The announcement confirms that ZX 300e has exceeded the full conditions to satisfy the IEC 61400-50-2 standard, demonstrating no environmental variables to be significant and validating again that ZX Lidars are an acceptable technology for inclusion in the wide variety of wind campaigns and applications including resource assessment, site calibration and power curve measurements. An industry first – the IEC Classification has been achieved on data measured up to 200 m from ground level including data down to just 21 m, the widest, most comprehensive Classification range of any Lidar, covering 3 Lidars and 5 campaigns in total and at test sites operated by DNV, GeoNet and Pavana.
ZX 300e is said to be the culmination of 15 years of evolution of the 300-series Lidar from ZX and is founded on the industry’s most validated Lidar with its own existing IEC Classification, tens of thousands of deployments, and thousands of
Performance Verifications at test sites around the world.
New features of ZX 300e include enhanced wind data with a new generation of Continuous Wave wind Lidar algorithms for superior accuracy, wind direction sensing, data availability and Cup-Equivalent Turbulence Intensity. With a reduced power consumption of just 44W even at -25°C, off-grid power supply fuel is better preserved and autonomy extended. A new powerful and secure web-based User Interface supports local and remote, multi-user access and system status checks.
300m ‘Midar’ technology In addition to the extensive IEC Classification that retains ZX 300e position as the industry benchmark for wind Lidar, a fleet of ZX 300e units have been verified using ‘Midar’ technology – a novel mast + Lidar approach where a vertical- profiling Lidar mounted to a 91 m mast extending traceable reference measurements far above the mast itself, and up to 300 m. The results were compelling: correlation slopes consistently within ±1%, R² greater than 0.985, and repeatability across the fleet within the narrowest ranges yet reported for a ground-based Lidar. 99.8% - 94.2% availability was achieved consistently
from 20 to 300m. At 250 m, data availability exceeded 96%, and at 300 m it remained above 94%, with correlation slopes within ±1.1% and R² values again remaining greater than 0.985. This represents the first independent demonstration of a ground-based Lidar delivering consistent, low-uncertainty data at heights up to 300 m. Existing owners of ZX 300 from 1 January 2025 up to present day are invited to discuss with ZX directly options for embracing ZX 300e immediately by asking ZX to enable the dormant ZX300e specification in their equipment.
New heave compensation system for survey vessels
For offshore wind, better site data means leaner foundations and quicker build-out. MintMech’s new retrofittable control system, Active Heave Assist, is designed to keep a vessel’s drill tip steady to within 10 cm even in waves, improving the efficiency and value of geotechnical surveys.
The system has been proved on deep, rocky sites where fixed frames were not viable, and it can be fitted to existing rigs with minimal changes. The result is said to be greater confidence in geodata, which allows designers to reduce steel structure and shorten fabrication windows in monopiles and jackets. It also means fewer aborted runs and wider weather windows. Cornwall, UK, based specialist MintMech has developed the new heave compensation system to replace the traditional passive systems that offshore geotechnical drilling operations have relied on, which, although effective in some conditions, are often unable to maintain drill string stability in soft ground conditions, during delicate downhole logging or when working off- bottom, such as during tool changes. AHA can be retrofitted to a vessel’s existing passive heave compensation system with minimal disruption, says its maker. Multiple fail-safes and an intuitive control panel make the system easy to use for drillers, who can choose the level of automation based on their experience, and override it if necessary. “Active Heave Assist fundamentally changes the way we can work offshore,” said Jack Berryman, cofounder of MintMech. “By retrofitting AHA to the existing passive system,
40 | October 2025|
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we can actively control the position of the bottom hole assembly and enable reliable core and data collection in ground and metocean conditions that previously made it practically impossible. Our ability to combine accurate BHA positional control with automated weight on bit limits is transformative.”
The AHA system has already been successfully deployed in a commercial campaign in the West Pacific. Operating in rocky, uneven seabed in deep-water conditions where traditional jack-up barges and seabed frames could not be used, the system enabled advanced downhole logging operations that required precise positional control of the bottom hole assembly. “In offshore wind” said Theo Cleave, commercial manager at MintMech, “developers must revisit areas previously considered unattractive or unviable, such as those in very soft ground, rocky ground or deeper water. Having a better understanding of the seabed conditions could open up these locations for development.”
MintMech is also developing AHA
enhancements including automatic weight-on-bit (AWOB) and auto-core-run (ACR) control systems to further improve drilling performance across a range of seabed conditions.
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