Posters

Abstract

Historic climate data is crucial for characterising the conditions at offshore wind farm sites. This data  is relied upon for predictions of the energy yield at the site, allocating resources or planning for offshore operations and for use during the offshore wind turbine foundation design exercise.  Traditionally, metocean specialists and wind resource practitioners have utilised climate data for different purposes. Metocean practitioners typically use the longest data period possible to ensure the assessment covers significant storms and informs the foundation design's survivability. Operational planners also have a preference for a longer hindcast to better appreciate the upper envelope of installation durations. Conversely, wind resource practitioners often limit their datasets to the past 20 years, focusing on quantifying long-term average wind conditions and predicting energy production. This approach aims to balance the advantage of having large volumes of data with the risk that older data may be of a lower quality. As offshore wind projects move towards deeper waters and larger turbines stretching further into the atmospheric boundary layer, the interface between atmospheric (Wind Resource practitioners) and oceanographic (Metocean practitioners) is becoming increasingly important. The design of foundations for larger turbines requires careful appreciation of the wind loading, which is becoming more important than wave loading. This necessitates closer collaboration between metocean and wind resource teams to address design parameters such as wind extremes and fatigue. The offshore wind industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by global demand for renewable energy and technological advancements. However, developers face financial pressures and challenges in delivering economically competitive projects. High upfront capital expenditures for offshore wind projects, particularly for wind turbine foundations, are a major concern. Accurate quantification of wind and metocean conditions is critical for optimizing foundation designs and reducing costs. Inconsistent or outdated data approaches can introduce uncertainty, impacting safety and cost efficiency. This study will use in-house tools to investigate multi-decade hindcasts of wind speed and significant wave height across several offshore wind development zones. It will compare the sensitivity of different decadal epochs on mean wind conditions, extreme wind speeds, wave heights, fatigue conditions, and operational parameters. The study will present the uncertainty associated with different long-term periods for each parameter to help analysts make informed decisions about the advantages or disadvantages associated with different length hindcasts.