Comparison of offshore wind park sites using SAR wind measurement techniques

Abstract

Wind farming has grown rapidly in Europe during the last decade. All European countries with shallow coastal waters and strong mean wind speeds at the coast are planning or already constructing offshore wind farms. Large parts of the North and Baltic Sea are under investigation as to whether they are suitable for offshore parks. In this paper it is demonstrated how satellite images taken by space borne radar sensors can be used to determine mesoscale wind fields and thus help in the task of planning and operating offshore wind farms. High-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the European remote sensing satellite ERS-2 showing single wind turbines are investigated. The methods for retrieving high-resolution wind fields from SAR images are explained and a statistical comparison of wind speed and wind direction at the two offshore wind park sites in the North Sea, Horns Rev and Butendiek, is given.