Improving the Mapping and Prediction of Offshore Wind Resources (IMPOWR): Experimental Overview and First Results

Abstract

he wind resource offshore of the East Coast of the United States is well known for its potential to provide abundant, clean, renewable, and domestic electricity. However, limited observations from this region are recorded at heights above the water that penetrate significantly into the planetary boundary layer (PBL). As a result, mesoscale models have been used to characterize the offshore wind resource in this region but have not been evaluated fully within the PBL due to the scarcity of observations. This paper describes the setup and some early results from the Improving the Mapping and Prediction of Offshore Wind Resources (IMPOWR) field study conducted in the Nantucket Sound area in 2013/14. The IMPOWR campaign provides a rich dataset of observations within the PBL from a variety of sources: high-frequency Long-EZ aircraft, a multilevel atmospheric and oceanic tower in Nantucket Sound, and lidars on the south shore of eastern Long Island and Block Island. In addition to new data for model validation and wind resource assessment, the IMPOWR field campaign provides new insights on meteorological features important for wind power development, such as the New York Bight jet and shallow marine layer.