In October 2016, MassCEC partnered with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and AWS Truepower to install a vertical profiling WindCube LIDAR on the WHOI’s Air-sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) located in state waters one mile south of Martha’s Vineyard to collect wind data near federal offshore wind energy areas (WEAs).
The offshore wind industry, power purchasers, regulators and grid operators require accurate meteorological and oceanographic information to evaluate the energy potential, economic viability and engineering requirements of project sites.
Through the Metocean Initiative, MassCEC is enabling public access to quality‐assured metocean data that supplements and enhances (not replaces) proprietary developer‐funded data collection activities.
Enabling public access to quality‐assured metocean data will enhance private leaseholder data collection efforts leading to increased confidence for designers and lenders, and will attract local and national expertise for faster progress on resolving critical deployment challenges. Other key benefits include:
- Collecting and distributing hub-height wind speed and other key data;
- Increasing confidence in wind resource;
- Supporting research projects that rely on metocean data-sets; and
- Providing reference site for validating floating LIDAR platforms to industry standards.
Metocean Data Access
Metocean data, reports and analyses can be accessed via an ftp maintained by AWS Truepower, MassCEC’s metocean technical consultant, using the following information:
Web: https://ftp.awstruepower.com
FTP: ftp://ftp.awstruepower.com
Username: MassCEC_Stakeholder
Password: s74!MC3d
Prior to accessing data, it is strongly recommended that users first review the (1) Metocean Monitoring Plan which provides a detailed description of sensors, data collection parameters, and data products (2) LIDAR Commissioning Documentation which contains detailed parameters related to the lidar’s installation and operation, and (3) the LIDAR Offset Memo which details the physical orientations of both the lidar and the wind direction vane. These documents are also accessible via the ftp.
Available Lidar Data and Data Products
- Raw Lidar time series
- Validated time series
- Monthly observed statistics summaries
- Wind Speed Maps (100-m, 110-m, 120-m)
- 8760 Time Series (long-term adjusted, typical meteorological year) of wind speed, wind direction and temperature
- Time Series output at three heights: 100-m, 110-m, 120-m
- Time Series output at three locations across the project area
- Net Capacity Factor Maps (100-m, 110-m, 120-m)
- For these maps we assumed a 400 MW plant capacity, a generic 8 MW power curve and an ~20% total loss assumption
- Raster Wind Speed Maps (100-m, 110-m, 120-m)
- For use in GIS software
Available Metocean Data
In addition to the Lidar, the metocean team is measuring key metocean parameters from sensors installed directly onto the ASIT which include:
- Cup anemometers measuring wind speed and direction
- Temperature
- Relative humidity
- Water temperature
- Air pressure
- Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ACDP)
MassCEC Metocean Data Webinar: The First Year Offshore
This webinar provides an introduction MassCEC’s Metocean Initiative, and an overview of the project’s measurements, data products and the wind resource where the first commercial-scale offshore wind project will be built. Slides and recording are available and provide information on how to access data and analysis products.