Offshore Wind Data Release Propels Wind Prospecting
NREL has released several new offshore wind data sets that represent 20-year time spans. Using state-of-the-art modeling tools and sophisticated
resource assessment technologies, these updated data sets provide wind energy developers,
consultants, and researchers access to high-quality wind resource information that
can inform future offshore wind energy siting decisions and research.
Floating lidars, such as this U.S. Department of Energy wind resource characterization
buoy managed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, collect wind speed and direction
measurements up to 250 meters from the surface of the ocean. These measurements, combined
with satellite-based measurements of near-surface U.S. offshore wind speeds, help