Recommendations for additional wind resource measurement sites in the North Sea to support wind energy developments beyond 2030
report
To support the Netherlands’ goals of achieving ca. 21 gigawatts of wind energy by 20301 and approximately 72 gigawatts by 2050, precise mapping of wind resources in the Dutch North Sea region is crucial. Long-term wind measurements near proposed wind farm sites are essential for accurate wind resource assessments, supporting wind farm developers in designing wind farms and reducing financial risks. Currently, TNO monitors the wind resource at four offshore locations; however, the northern part of the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), designated for wind farm development beyond 2030, remains still uncovered. This study aims to identify a suitable offshore platform to expand the measurement campaign towards search areas 6/7 in the north. To identify candidate platforms, a visualisation of wind farm zones and existing offshore plat forms, used in oil and gas exploration, was made, and a qualitative trade-off was performed based on a number of criteria: Proximity to the area of interest Distance from neighbouring Dutch or foreign wind farms Alignment with prevailing wind direction Distance to the existing TNO measurement locations Presence of KNMI meteorological measurement station on the platform An important criterion is the expected cessation of production (COP) date of the platforms, as the value of wind resource measurements increases with longer measurement periods. However, this data was unavailable, so a shortlist of preferred options was created without it
Topics
TNO Identifier
995892
Publisher
TNO
Collation
17 p.
Place of publication
Petten