Abstract

Future offshore wind farms around the world will be built with wind turbines of size and capacity never seen before (with diameter and hub height exceeding 150 and 100 m, respectively, and rated power exceeding 10 MW). Their potential impacts at the surface have not yet been studied. Here we conduct high-resolution numerical simulations using a mesoscale model with a wind farm parameterization and compare scenarios with and without offshore wind farms equipped with these ‘extreme-scale’ wind turbines. Wind speed, turbulence, friction velocity, and sensible heat fluxes are slightly reduced at the surface, like with conventional wind turbines. But, while the warming found below the rotor in stable atmospheric conditions extends to the surface with conventional wind turbines, with extreme-scale ones it does not reach the surface, where instead minimal cooling is found. Overall, the surface meteorological impacts of large offshore wind farms equipped with extreme-scale turbines are statistically significant but negligible in magnitude.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.