Estimation of Nearshore Wind Conditions Using Onshore Observation Data with Computational Fluid Dynamic and Mesoscale Models

Mizuki Konagaya (), Teruo Ohsawa, Toshinari Mito, Takeshi Misaki, Taro Maruo and Yasuyuki Baba
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Mizuki Konagaya: Rera Tech Inc., 5-1-1 Fukae-minami, Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Teruo Ohsawa: Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, 5-1-1 Fukae-minami, Higashinada-Ku, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Toshinari Mito: Rera Tech Inc., 5-1-1 Fukae-minami, Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Takeshi Misaki: Rera Tech Inc., 5-1-1 Fukae-minami, Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Taro Maruo: Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, 5-1-1 Fukae-minami, Higashinada-Ku, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Yasuyuki Baba: Shirahama Oceanographic Observatory, 2500-106 Katata, Shirahama, Nishimuro, Wakayama 649-2201, Japan

Resources, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: This study aimed to establish numerical models to replicate wind conditions for nearshore waters, sensitive to onshore topography, and to compare the characteristics of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and mesoscale models. Vertical Doppler light detection and ranging (LiDAR) observation data were measured at an onshore site, which showed that wind conditions were affected by thermodynamic phenomena, such as land and sea breeze, and dynamical effects from neighboring onshore topography. The estimation accuracy of the CFD model depended on the height of the LiDAR data input. A height close to the target, such as the hub height of wind turbines, seemed appropriate as input data, considering that the accuracy of the wind speed shear replicated in a CFD numerical model may be uncertain. The mesoscale model replicated the wind through the thermodynamic effect and reliably estimated wind speed over nearshore waters without observation correction. Larger estimation errors were detected in the CFD model than in the mesoscale model, as the former could not account for thermodynamic effects. Wind conditions in water areas near complex coastlines may also be formed by thermodynamic factors, making analysis using a mesoscale model advantageous.

Keywords: offshore wind energy; nearshore waters; wind resource assessment; CFD model; mesoscale model; vertical Doppler LiDAR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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