Power - a methodology for predicting offshore wind energy resources

An accurate estimate of the long-term wind speed is essential to site an offshore wind farm effectively. Unfortunately measured wind speed data at potential offshore wind farm sites are currently sparse. A major European Commission funded project called ‘Predicting Offshore Wind Energy Resources” (POWER) aims to develop a methodology for predicting the long-term wind resource that does not rely directly on offshore anemometry mast data. Work on the POWER project began in August 1998 and is scheduled to finish in July 2001. This paper presents an overview of POWER and shows how the components of the prediction methodology fit together. Finally, this paper reports on progress in the project to date and presents some preliminary results