Satellite-Based Offshore Wind Resource Assessment in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Identification of prominent sea areas for the efficient exploitation of offshore wind energy potential requires primarily the assessment and modeling of several aspects of the long-term wind climate. In this work, the offshore wind speed and wind direction climate of the Mediterranean Sea is analytically described, the corresponding offshore wind energy potential is estimated on an annual and seasonal basis, and candidate areas for potential offshore wind farm development are identified. The analysis is based on ocean surface wind fields obtained from the Blended Sea Winds product, provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), from 1995 to 2014. The satellite data are evaluated with reference to buoy wind measurements in the Spanish and Greek Seas. Wind data analysis reveals areas in the western and eastern Mediterranean Sea with high mean annual wind speed combined with rather low temporal variability. The obtained results suggest that offshore wind power potential in the Mediterranean Sea is fairly exploitable at specific suitable locations, such as the Gulf of Lions (with mean annual wind power density up to ∼1600 W/m 2 ) and the Aegean Sea (with mean annual wind power density up to ∼1150 W/m 2 ), that are certainly worth further in-depth assessment for exploiting offshore wind energy. Finally, based on the available offshore wind resource potential and the water depth suitability, three specific sites (in the Gulf of Valencia and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas) are selected and the average wind power output for a specific wind turbine type is estimated.Index Terms-Blended sea winds, Mediterranean Sea, offshore wind energy, UpWind turbine.

Marine Renewable Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Status and Perspectives

“…However, the approach has not accounted for bottom depth that is a major technical restriction; see Figure 12, where the mean annual offshore wind power density at 80 m height above sea level (asl) according to the results obtained from an atmospheric ETA-based model is presented, and Figure 13 below, where the locations satisfying the depth restrictions are depicted. An offshore wind potential assessment in the MS, taking into account bottom depth restrictions, has been also recently performed in [148] using the Blended Sea Winds (BSW) satellite dataset from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The data cover the period from 1995 to 2011.…”

“…An offshore wind potential assessment in the MS, taking into account bottom depth restrictions, has been also recently performed in [148] using the Blended Sea Winds (BSW) satellite dataset from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The data cover the period from 1995 to 2011.…”

“…Regional and local studies regarding wind availability and power potential have been performed in particular locations of the Mediterranean basin, namely in the Croatian coasts, the northern Adriatic Sea, the Greek Seas, the area of Othoni, Gargano Sud (Italy), Gulf of Valencia (Spain) and the Ionian Sea; see [148,[153][154][155][156][157][158].…”

An overview of offshore wind energy resources in Europe under present and future climate

“…in the Mediterranean Sea. 87 The authors found that the offshore wind power potential in the Mediterranean Sea is the highest in the Gulf of Lyon (mean annual wind power density up to ß1600 Wm -2 ) and the Aegean Sea (with mean annual wind power density up to ß1150 Wm -2 ).…”

“…Twenty years of offshore wind data from the Blended Sea Winds product, provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were used to estimate offshore wind resources at 10 m a.s.l. in the Mediterranean Sea . The authors found that the offshore wind power potential in the Mediterranean Sea is the highest in the Gulf of Lyon (mean annual wind power density up to ∼1600 Wm –2 ) and the Aegean Sea (with mean annual wind power density up to ∼1150 Wm –2 ).…”