Wind Resource & Metocean Measurements from Five New Floating LiDAR Buoys on the US East Coast

Presentation Description: To accelerate offshore wind development and reduce risk for the industry, TGS has deployed five floating LiDAR buoys along the US East Coast. These buoys are sited in the primary wind development zones: one in Massachusetts, two in the New York Bight, and two in the Central Atlantic. Together, this collection of observations creates a foundational data set for understanding the wind resource and metocean conditions in the region.

In this presentation, we share results from the buoys and quantify the wind resource and metocean conditions across the US East Coast. In particular, the TGS Central Atlantic buoys are the first measurements sited within the call areas that will be awarded to developers in BOEM’s upcoming lease auction. Our analysis will highlight how the Central Atlantic call areas compare to each other, focusing on which areas appear most attractive for offshore wind development. We will also contrast measurements from the Central Atlantic to other lease primary offshore wind development areas that are better known and measured, thus providing useful context for expected performance risk. Lastly, we will evaluate the performance of 1km resolution Numerical Weather Prediction model simulations against these floating LiDAR measurements to assess the skill of the NWP model and highlight how these new measurements enhance our understanding of the wind resource and metocean conditions along the US East Coast.