Sarasota company awarded federal grant to develop special buoys

A Sarasota company was awarded $200,000 recently by the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate wind energy research and development.

Loggerhead Instruments was one of four small businesses selected in July by the department's Wind Energy Technology Office for an initiative called the Small Business Innovative Research program, according to a statement from the Energy Department. 

Loggerhead Instruments, based off Palmer Park Circle in Palmer Ranch, will use the grant to develop special buoys equipped with sensors that, through neural networks, can identify North Atlantic right whales and migrating birds and bats in real time, according to the statement. The whales are endangered, while migrating birds and bats are at risk of colliding with wind turbines. This technology will allow for safer construction and operation of wind farms, the statement says.

To be selected for the program, a business had to demonstrate technical feasibility, the department says.

The Sarasota company is known for its underwater acoustic recording devices that can capture noise monitoring from wind turbines, fish vocalizations, ocean soundscapes and marine mammals.