EU-Norsewind: delivering offshore wind speed data for renewable energy

Offshore wind is the key area of expansion for most EU states in order to meet renewable energy obligations. However, a lack of good quality offshore wind resource data is inhibiting growth in this area. To address this issue the NORSEWInD project was established in 2008 to develop the methodology for creating a wind atlas from remote sensing satellite data which is available in the public domain. This paper gives an overview of the methodology developed and includes the so-called “NORSEWInD standard” for comparing LIDAR and mast wind data, the technique for estimating the flow distortion measured around offshore platforms by LiDARs using wind tunnel and CFD data and observations of the vertical wind profile shear exponent at the hub height of off shore wind turbines.