Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets
<p>Offshore wind farms are scheduled to be constructed along the East Coast of the US in the coming years. Low-level jets (LLJs) – layers of relatively fast winds at low altitudes – also occur frequently in this region. Because LLJs provide considerable wind resources, it is important to under...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Wind Energy Science |
| Online Access: | https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/117/2025/wes-10-117-2025.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841536631908073472 |
|---|---|
| author | D. Quint D. Quint J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist D. Rosencrans |
| author_facet | D. Quint D. Quint J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist D. Rosencrans |
| author_sort | D. Quint |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Offshore wind farms are scheduled to be constructed along the East Coast of the US in the coming years. Low-level jets (LLJs) – layers of relatively fast winds at low altitudes – also occur frequently in this region. Because LLJs provide considerable wind resources, it is important to understand how LLJs might change with turbine construction. LLJs also influence moisture and pollution transport; thus, the effects of wind farms on LLJs could also affect the region’s meteorology. In the absence of observations or significant wind farm construction as yet, we compare 1 year of simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with and without wind farms incorporated, focusing on locations chosen by their proximity to future wind development areas. We develop and present an algorithm to detect LLJs at each hour of the year at each of these locations. We validate the algorithm to the extent possible by comparing LLJs identified by lidar, constrained to the lowest 200 m, to WRF simulations of these very low LLJs (vLLJs). In the NOW-WAKES simulation data set, we find offshore LLJs in this region occur about 25 % of the time, most frequently at night, in the spring and summer months, in stably stratified conditions, and when a southwesterly wind is blowing. LLJ wind speed maxima range from 10 m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> to over 40 m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. The altitude of maximum wind speed, or the jet “nose”, is typically 300 m above the surface, above the height of most profiling lidars, although several hours of vLLJs occur in each month in the data set. The diurnal cycle for vLLJs is less pronounced than for all LLJs. Wind farms erode LLJs, as LLJs occur less frequently (19 %–20 % of hours) in the wind farm simulations than in the no-wind-farm (NWF) simulation (25 % of hours). When LLJs do occur in the simulation with wind farms, their noses are higher than in the NWF simulation: the LLJ nose has a mean altitude near 300 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> for the NWF jets, but that nose height moves higher in the presence of wind farms, to a mean altitude near 400 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>. Rotor region (30–250 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>) wind veer is reduced across almost all months of the year in the wind farm simulations, while rotor region wind shear is similar in both simulations.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a9f1a1fbaf64604998e7e25058fc876 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2366-7443 2366-7451 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wind Energy Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a9f1a1fbaf64604998e7e25058fc8762025-01-14T13:01:14ZengCopernicus PublicationsWind Energy Science2366-74432366-74512025-01-011011714210.5194/wes-10-117-2025Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jetsD. Quint0D. Quint1J. K. Lundquist2J. K. Lundquist3J. K. Lundquist4D. Rosencrans5Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0311, United StatesNational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United StatesDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0311, United StatesNational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United StatesRalph O'Conor Sustainable Energy Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United StatesDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0311, United States<p>Offshore wind farms are scheduled to be constructed along the East Coast of the US in the coming years. Low-level jets (LLJs) – layers of relatively fast winds at low altitudes – also occur frequently in this region. Because LLJs provide considerable wind resources, it is important to understand how LLJs might change with turbine construction. LLJs also influence moisture and pollution transport; thus, the effects of wind farms on LLJs could also affect the region’s meteorology. In the absence of observations or significant wind farm construction as yet, we compare 1 year of simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with and without wind farms incorporated, focusing on locations chosen by their proximity to future wind development areas. We develop and present an algorithm to detect LLJs at each hour of the year at each of these locations. We validate the algorithm to the extent possible by comparing LLJs identified by lidar, constrained to the lowest 200 m, to WRF simulations of these very low LLJs (vLLJs). In the NOW-WAKES simulation data set, we find offshore LLJs in this region occur about 25 % of the time, most frequently at night, in the spring and summer months, in stably stratified conditions, and when a southwesterly wind is blowing. LLJ wind speed maxima range from 10 m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> to over 40 m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. The altitude of maximum wind speed, or the jet “nose”, is typically 300 m above the surface, above the height of most profiling lidars, although several hours of vLLJs occur in each month in the data set. The diurnal cycle for vLLJs is less pronounced than for all LLJs. Wind farms erode LLJs, as LLJs occur less frequently (19 %–20 % of hours) in the wind farm simulations than in the no-wind-farm (NWF) simulation (25 % of hours). When LLJs do occur in the simulation with wind farms, their noses are higher than in the NWF simulation: the LLJ nose has a mean altitude near 300 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> for the NWF jets, but that nose height moves higher in the presence of wind farms, to a mean altitude near 400 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>. Rotor region (30–250 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>) wind veer is reduced across almost all months of the year in the wind farm simulations, while rotor region wind shear is similar in both simulations.</p>https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/117/2025/wes-10-117-2025.pdf |
| spellingShingle | D. Quint D. Quint J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist J. K. Lundquist D. Rosencrans Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets Wind Energy Science |
| title | Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets |
| title_full | Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets |
| title_fullStr | Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets |
| title_short | Simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low-level jets |
| title_sort | simulations suggest offshore wind farms modify low level jets |
| url | https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/117/2025/wes-10-117-2025.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dquint simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets AT dquint simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets AT jklundquist simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets AT jklundquist simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets AT jklundquist simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets AT drosencrans simulationssuggestoffshorewindfarmsmodifylowleveljets |