Building upon Copernicus Earth Observation services to augment wind measurement coverage of the OREDP offshore renewable energy assessment areas

Project Description

A key objective of Irish energy policy articulated in the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP) is the expansion of Ireland's renewable energy portfolio to utilise offshore wind resources in the generation of low carbon electricity. Reliable, regular, and accurate observations are crucial inputs to the offshore wind farm area assessment process, with observations typically measured close to the ocean surface using in situ meteorological masts. Remote sensing techniques have been recommended to address resolution and coverage issues associated with in situ measurements, in particular, the use of space-borne Earth Observation (EO) instruments for ocean and sea surface wind estimations. The Copernicus EO services provide state of the art monitoring of ocean areas, generating near real time estimates of offshore wind speed and direction. However, there is no current resource tailored to the Irish offshore region that generates wind speed, direction, and power density estimations by leveraging the offshore data products provided by the Copernicus EO services. Consequently, this project is focused on designing and implementing an innovative pilot service that provides regular generation of Irish offshore wind speed, direction, and power density estimates using these Copernicus services; the supply of the generated publicly available data resource to the SEAI for integration into their online services; consultation with relevant stakeholders; and the generation of a corresponding report detailing the processing, validation, and suitability of Copernicus services for augmenting wind measurement coverage of the OREDP offshore renewable energy assessment areas.