Measuring Atmospheric Stability through Measurements of Temperature, Humidity and Pressure in Remote Marine Locations
The iX programme is supporting Ocean Winds (a 50-50 joint venture of ENGIE and EDP Renewables) to find innovators who can provide a solution to the offshore wind industry’s atmospheric stability measurement challenge. Ocean Winds wishes to engage innovators that can enable better measurements of vertical profiles of temperature, pressure and water content (relative humidity), up to 500m in height, in a marine environment.
Opportunity
Challenge opens
08/07/2024
Challenge closes
08/11/2024
Benefit
Selected solution provider(s) may have the opportunity to present their solution to Ocean Winds. It is also possible that further activities may be undertaken Ocean Winds, such as product trials. This is not guaranteed and will be solely at the discretion of Ocean Winds.
Background
Ocean Winds (OW)
Ocean Winds develops, finances, builds and operates offshore wind farms all over the world.
Ocean Winds is the result of a 50-50 joint venture by EDP Renewables (EDPR) and ENGIE in 2019. Both companies share the vision in which renewables, particularly offshore wind, play a key role in the global energy transition.
EDPR and ENGIE combine their offshore wind assets and project pipeline under Ocean Winds, beginning with 1.5 GW under construction and 4.0 GW under development, with the target of reaching 5-7 GW of projects in operation or construction and 5-10 GW under advanced development by 2025. OW’s offshore wind gross capacity already operating, in construction or with advanced development rights granted has reached 18.6 GW. Ocean Winds primary target markets are in Europe, the United States and selected parts of Asia, Brazil and Australia.
Offshore Wind Resource and Metocean measurement campaigns
Prior to initiating the construction process for an offshore wind farm, a project developer like Ocean Winds will gather data on wind and atmospheric conditions of the site. In the past, this was done by installing a meteorological mast, but these involved multi-million-pound investments, so currently it’s done by installing floating LiDAR buoys.
Floating LiDAR buoys collect wind speed and direction data at different heights (typically at hub height level, which can be 150 m or higher) and other relevant meteorological data such as temperature, pressure and humidity at the sea surface. And the buoys where the LiDAR’s are installed collect metocean data, including wave and tidal characteristics.
Offshore wind vs. onshore wind
Wind patterns over land, where topography and surface roughness or physical obstacles exist, produce mechanical perturbations to the air flow. This mechanical force contributes to the mixing of atmospheric layers. The thermal capacity of the soil is also much larger than the sea, which contributes to rapid changes of temperature, leading to intense vertical flux exchanges (further mixing of the atmospheric layers).
However, wind that blows over the marine environment experiences much lower mechanical mixing. Combined with the lower (than soil) thermal inertia of the water, it leads to greater atmospheric stability.
Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL):
The portion of atmosphere directly above the surface of the sea/land, where the effects of the surface have a direct influence on the atmosphere, is called the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). The PBL is defined by the height at which the decrease in temperature profile begins to slow (inversion). Over the sea, where there is intense atmospheric stability, the PBL can reach a lower height which can get close to wind turbine blade tip heights (which can be around 300m for the latest offshore wind turbine models). Typically, the lower the PBL is, the more stable the atmosphere is.
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