Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms
When installing offshore wind farms (OWFs) adjacent to the coast, one needs to consider the combined effects of the wind wakes caused by the OWFs and natural horizontal coastal wind speed gradients (HCWSGs). This study exploits the full Sentinel 1A/B and Envisat archive of synthetic aperture radar (...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-03-01
|
| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/6/1464 |
| _version_ | 1827625892748197888 |
|---|---|
| author | Abdalmenem Owda Merete Badger |
| author_facet | Abdalmenem Owda Merete Badger |
| author_sort | Abdalmenem Owda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When installing offshore wind farms (OWFs) adjacent to the coast, one needs to consider the combined effects of the wind wakes caused by the OWFs and natural horizontal coastal wind speed gradients (HCWSGs). This study exploits the full Sentinel 1A/B and Envisat archive of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery covering the northern European seas. More than 8700 SAR scenes fit well with our selection criteria and are processed as wind maps for the height 10 m above the sea surface. For eight selected wind farm sites, we systematically compare the wind flow variation before and after wind farm commissioning. Before the commissioning, we observe wind speed gradients up to ±4% for onshore and offshore winds. After the commissioning, we detect a 2–10% reduction in the mean wind speed downstream of the turbines after taking into account the background wind speed gradients. These velocity deficits are proportional to the OWF capacity. Our findings indicate that wind speed maps retrieved from SAR can be used to quantify the complex interactions between natural HCWSGs and turbine-induced effects on the mean wind climate. Ultimately, this can be used in connection with farm planning in coastal waters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:45:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-91efe0d90f904a02afbd0c2e49ac1e15 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:45:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-91efe0d90f904a02afbd0c2e49ac1e152023-11-30T22:13:23ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-03-01146146410.3390/rs14061464Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind FarmsAbdalmenem Owda0Merete Badger1Department of Wind Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, DenmarkDepartment of Wind Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, DenmarkWhen installing offshore wind farms (OWFs) adjacent to the coast, one needs to consider the combined effects of the wind wakes caused by the OWFs and natural horizontal coastal wind speed gradients (HCWSGs). This study exploits the full Sentinel 1A/B and Envisat archive of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery covering the northern European seas. More than 8700 SAR scenes fit well with our selection criteria and are processed as wind maps for the height 10 m above the sea surface. For eight selected wind farm sites, we systematically compare the wind flow variation before and after wind farm commissioning. Before the commissioning, we observe wind speed gradients up to ±4% for onshore and offshore winds. After the commissioning, we detect a 2–10% reduction in the mean wind speed downstream of the turbines after taking into account the background wind speed gradients. These velocity deficits are proportional to the OWF capacity. Our findings indicate that wind speed maps retrieved from SAR can be used to quantify the complex interactions between natural HCWSGs and turbine-induced effects on the mean wind climate. Ultimately, this can be used in connection with farm planning in coastal waters.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/6/1464remote sensingSARoffshore wind farmsgeophysical model functionswind wakeshorizontal coastal wind speed gradients |
| spellingShingle | Abdalmenem Owda Merete Badger Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms Remote Sensing remote sensing SAR offshore wind farms geophysical model functions wind wakes horizontal coastal wind speed gradients |
| title | Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms |
| title_full | Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms |
| title_fullStr | Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms |
| title_short | Wind Speed Variation Mapped Using SAR before and after Commissioning of Offshore Wind Farms |
| title_sort | wind speed variation mapped using sar before and after commissioning of offshore wind farms |
| topic | remote sensing SAR offshore wind farms geophysical model functions wind wakes horizontal coastal wind speed gradients |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/6/1464 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdalmenemowda windspeedvariationmappedusingsarbeforeandaftercommissioningofoffshorewindfarms AT meretebadger windspeedvariationmappedusingsarbeforeandaftercommissioningofoffshorewindfarms |