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Modeling Annual Electricity Production and Levelized Cost of Energy from the US East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Lease Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca J. Barthelmie

    (Sibley School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA)

  • Gunner C. Larsen

    (Wind Energy Department, Danish Technical University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark)

  • Sara C. Pryor

    (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA)

Abstract

Offshore wind energy development along the East Coast of the US is proceeding quickly as a result of large areas with an excellent wind resource, low water depths and proximity to large electricity markets. Careful planning of wind turbine deployments in these offshore wind energy lease areas (LA) is required to maximize power output and to minimize wake losses between neighboring wind farms as well as those internal to each wind farm. Here, we used microscale wind modeling with two wake parameterizations to evaluate the potential annual energy production (AEP) and wake losses in the different LA areas, and we developed and applied a levelized cost of energy (LCoE) model to quantify the impact of different wind turbine layouts on LCoE. The modeling illustrated that if the current suite of LA is subject to deployment of 15 MW wind turbines at a spacing of 1.85 km, they will generate 4 to 4.6% of total national electricity demand. The LCoE ranged from $68 to $102/MWh depending on the precise layout selected, which is cost competitive with many other generation sources. The scale of the wind farms that will be deployed greatly exceed those currently operating and mean that wake-induced power losses are considerable but still relatively poorly constrained. AEP and LCoE exhibited significant dependence on the precise wake model applied. For the largest LA, the AEP differed by over 10% depending on the wake model used, leading to a $10/MWh difference in LCoE for the wind turbine layout with 1.85 km spacing.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Gunner C. Larsen & Sara C. Pryor, 2023. "Modeling Annual Electricity Production and Levelized Cost of Energy from the US East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Lease Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-29, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:12:p:4550-:d:1165075
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shields, Matt & Beiter, Philipp & Nunemaker, Jake & Cooperman, Aubryn & Duffy, Patrick, 2021. "Impacts of turbine and plant upsizing on the levelized cost of energy for offshore wind," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
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    5. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Kelsey B. Thompson & Sara C. Pryor, 2025. "Factors Impacting Projected Annual Energy Production from Offshore Wind Farms on the US East and West Coasts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-34, July.
    2. Sara C. Pryor & Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Jacob J. Coburn & Xin Zhou & Marianne Rodgers & Heather Norton & M. Sergio Campobasso & Beatriz Méndez López & Charlotte Bay Hasager & Leon Mishnaevsky, 2024. "Prioritizing Research for Enhancing the Technology Readiness Level of Wind Turbine Blade Leading-Edge Erosion Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-29, December.
    3. Sebastian Zupok & Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Artur Dmowski & Stefan Dyrka & Andrzej Hordyj, 2025. "A Review of Key Factors Shaping the Development of the U.S. Wind Energy Market in the Context of Contemporary Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Richard J. Foreman & Cristian Birzer & Beatriz Cañadillas, 2025. "Measuring and Simulating Wind Farm Wakes in the North Sea for Use in Assessing Other Regions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Brian Loza & Luis I. Minchala & Danny Ochoa-Correa & Sergio Martinez, 2024. "Grid-Friendly Integration of Wind Energy: A Review of Power Forecasting and Frequency Control Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Adam Rasiński & Ziemowit Malecha, 2025. "Wake Losses, Productivity, and Cost Analysis of a Polish Offshore Wind Farm in the Baltic Sea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Akdağ, Ozan, 2025. "A new framework to green hydrogen production from ocean/sea renewable energy sources: A case study of the Türkiye," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 396(C).
    8. Wu, Zhou & Yang, Hanshi & Liu, Jiepeng & Feng, Liang & Qi, Hongtuo & Zhang, Yongfeng & Yang, Zhile, 2025. "An integrated design framework of floating wind turbine based on surrogate-assisted many-objective optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).

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