A Regional Assessment of the U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Resource through the Use of Mesoscale Modeling

Abstract

Interest in offshore wind power is rapidly developing in the United States. Estimates of the potential offshore wind resource in U.S. waters exceed 900 GW. Thus, there is a need for tools to accurately evaluate and depict wind power availability. This necessitates observation and modeling strategies that focus on describing the physical and dynamical processes that operate within and just above the marine atmospheric boundary layer over a spectrum of spatial and temporal scales. Here, we discuss the data assimilation and modeling methods used to characterize the offshore wind environment through examples of resource mapping, observational studies, and model simulations. We present high resolution (200 m) offshore wind resource maps for New England, Texas, Louisiana, and the Great Lakes. Finally, we discuss the results of a recent intensive field measurement campaign in the waters south of Long Island, NY, and a modeling analysis and verification study of the coastal atmospheric regime.