PREDICTING UK OFFSHORE WIND SPEEDS

There is a lack of suitable offshore wind speed data which can be used to evaluate the offshore wind resource for the wind power industry. Here we review three methods of predicting offshore wind speeds. The results are compared with observations from two offshore sites, one coastal site and one near-coastal site. The Moore 900 mb model has been revised. The predicted long-term mean wind speeds are in good agreement with the observations, but on the seasonal timescale the results are less satisfactory. Data from the West Sole Offshore Gas Platform have been used to investigate the near-surface vertical wind speed profile. The logarithmic profile underpredicts wind speeds at 85 m, while the diabatic profile predicts wind speeds which are closer to the observations.