IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i14p3670-d385479.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Looking for an Offshore Low-Level Jet Champion among Recent Reanalyses: A Tight Race over the Baltic Sea

Author

Listed:
  • Christoffer Hallgren

    (Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Johan Arnqvist

    (Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Stefan Ivanell

    (Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Heiner Körnich

    (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SE-60176 Norrköping, Sweden)

  • Ville Vakkari

    (Finnish Meteorological Institute, PB 503, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland
    Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, Chemical Resource Beneficiation, North-West University, PB X6001, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa)

  • Erik Sahlée

    (Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

Abstract

With an increasing interest in offshore wind energy, focus has been directed towards large semi-enclosed basins such as the Baltic Sea as potential sites to set up wind turbines. The meteorology of this inland sea in particular is strongly affected by the surrounding land, creating mesoscale conditions that are important to take into consideration when planning for new wind farms. This paper presents a comparison between data from four state-of-the-art reanalyses (MERRA2, ERA5, UERRA, NEWA) and observations from LiDAR. The comparison is made for four sites in the Baltic Sea with wind profiles up to 300 m. The findings provide insight into the accuracy of reanalyses for wind resource assessment. In general, the reanalyses underestimate the average wind speed. The average shear is too low in NEWA, while ERA5 and UERRA predominantly overestimate the shear. MERRA2 suffers from insufficient vertical resolution, which limits its usefulness in evaluating the wind profile. It is also shown that low-level jets, a very frequent mesoscale phenomenon in the Baltic Sea during late spring, can appear in a wide range of wind speeds. The observed frequency of low-level jets is best captured by UERRA. In terms of general wind characteristics, ERA5, UERRA, and NEWA are similar, and the best choice depends on the application.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoffer Hallgren & Johan Arnqvist & Stefan Ivanell & Heiner Körnich & Ville Vakkari & Erik Sahlée, 2020. "Looking for an Offshore Low-Level Jet Champion among Recent Reanalyses: A Tight Race over the Baltic Sea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-26, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3670-:d:385479
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3670/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3670/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bishop, Ian D. & Miller, David R., 2007. "Visual assessment of off-shore wind turbines: The influence of distance, contrast, movement and social variables," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 814-831.
    2. Swider, Derk J. & Beurskens, Luuk & Davidson, Sarah & Twidell, John & Pyrko, Jurek & Prüggler, Wolfgang & Auer, Hans & Vertin, Katarina & Skema, Romualdas, 2008. "Conditions and costs for renewables electricity grid connection: Examples in Europe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1832-1842.
    3. Oh, Ki-Yong & Nam, Woochul & Ryu, Moo Sung & Kim, Ji-Young & Epureanu, Bogdan I., 2018. "A review of foundations of offshore wind energy convertors: Current status and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-36.
    4. Bilgili, Mehmet & Yasar, Abdulkadir & Simsek, Erdogan, 2011. "Offshore wind power development in Europe and its comparison with onshore counterpart," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 905-915, February.
    5. Olauson, Jon, 2018. "ERA5: The new champion of wind power modelling?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 322-331.
    6. Esteban, M. Dolores & Diez, J. Javier & López, Jose S. & Negro, Vicente, 2011. "Why offshore wind energy?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 444-450.
    7. Gualtieri, Giovanni, 2019. "A comprehensive review on wind resource extrapolation models applied in wind energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 215-233.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kamila Pronińska & Krzysztof Księżopolski, 2021. "Baltic Offshore Wind Energy Development—Poland’s Public Policy Tools Analysis and the Geostrategic Implications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Katikas, Loukas & Dimitriadis, Panayiotis & Koutsoyiannis, Demetris & Kontos, Themistoklis & Kyriakidis, Phaedon, 2021. "A stochastic simulation scheme for the long-term persistence, heavy-tailed and double periodic behavior of observational and reanalysis wind time-series," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    3. Gualtieri, G., 2022. "Analysing the uncertainties of reanalysis data used for wind resource assessment: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Kaitlyn E. Dantuono & Emma J. Renner & Frederick L. Letson & Sara C. Pryor, 2021. "Extreme Wind and Waves in U.S. East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Lease Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-25, February.
    5. Steven Knoop & Pooja Ramakrishnan & Ine Wijnant, 2020. "Dutch Offshore Wind Atlas Validation against Cabauw Meteomast Wind Measurements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Majidi Nezhad, Meysam & Neshat, Mehdi & Piras, Giuseppe & Astiaso Garcia, Davide, 2022. "Sites exploring prioritisation of offshore wind energy potential and mapping for wind farms installation: Iranian islands case studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Amirinia, Gholamreza & Mafi, Somayeh & Mazaheri, Said, 2017. "Offshore wind resource assessment of Persian Gulf using uncertainty analysis and GIS," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 915-929.
    3. Sun, Xiaojing & Huang, Diangui & Wu, Guoqing, 2012. "The current state of offshore wind energy technology development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 298-312.
    4. Kamila Pronińska & Krzysztof Księżopolski, 2021. "Baltic Offshore Wind Energy Development—Poland’s Public Policy Tools Analysis and the Geostrategic Implications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Zountouridou, E.I. & Kiokes, G.C. & Chakalis, S. & Georgilakis, P.S. & Hatziargyriou, N.D., 2015. "Offshore floating wind parks in the deep waters of Mediterranean Sea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 433-448.
    6. Al-Nassar, W.K. & Neelamani, S. & Al-Salem, K.A. & Al-Dashti, H.A., 2019. "Feasibility of offshore wind energy as an alternative source for the state of Kuwait," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 783-796.
    7. Shu, Z.R. & Li, Q.S. & Chan, P.W., 2015. "Investigation of offshore wind energy potential in Hong Kong based on Weibull distribution function," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 362-373.
    8. Wen, Yi & Kamranzad, Bahareh & Lin, Pengzhi, 2021. "Assessment of long-term offshore wind energy potential in the south and southeast coasts of China based on a 55-year dataset," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    9. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Anna Sobczak & Dariusz Soboń, 2022. "Wind Energy Market in Poland in the Background of the Baltic Sea Bordering Countries in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    10. Kaldellis, J.K. & Kapsali, M., 2013. "Shifting towards offshore wind energy—Recent activity and future development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 136-148.
    11. Li, Jiale & Yu, Xiong (Bill), 2018. "Onshore and offshore wind energy potential assessment near Lake Erie shoreline: A spatial and temporal analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 1092-1107.
    12. Brzezińska-Rawa, Anna & Goździewicz-Biechońska, Justyna, 2014. "Recent developments in the wind energy sector in Poland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 79-87.
    13. Chen, Xinping & Foley, Aoife & Zhang, Zenghai & Wang, Kaimin & O'Driscoll, Kieran, 2020. "An assessment of wind energy potential in the Beibu Gulf considering the energy demands of the Beibu Gulf Economic Rim," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Prässler, Thomas & Schaechtele, Jan, 2012. "Comparison of the financial attractiveness among prospective offshore wind parks in selected European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 86-101.
    15. Mahdy, Mostafa & Bahaj, AbuBakr S., 2018. "Multi criteria decision analysis for offshore wind energy potential in Egypt," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 278-289.
    16. Karakosta, Charikleia & Pappas, Charalampos & Marinakis, Vangelis & Psarras, John, 2013. "Renewable energy and nuclear power towards sustainable development: Characteristics and prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 187-197.
    17. Ochieng, E.G. & Melaine, Y. & Potts, S.J. & Zuofa, T. & Egbu, C.O. & Price, A.D.F. & Ruan, X., 2014. "Future for offshore wind energy in the United Kingdom: The way forward," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 655-666.
    18. He, J.Y. & Chan, P.W. & Li, Q.S. & Tong, H.W., 2023. "Mapping future offshore wind resources in the South China Sea under climate change by regional climate modeling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    19. Hong, Lixuan & Möller, Bernd, 2011. "Offshore wind energy potential in China: Under technical, spatial and economic constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 4482-4491.
    20. Zhao, Xin-gang & Ren, Ling-zhi, 2015. "Focus on the development of offshore wind power in China: Has the golden period come?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 644-657.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    offshore wind energy; Baltic Sea; low-level jets; MERRA2; ERA5; UERRA; NEWA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3670-:d:385479. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.