Presentation Description: We have recently developed the first long-term U.S.-based offshore Metocean Reference Site (MORS-1). MORS-1 capitalizes on a unique combination of the only publicly available offshore wind energy metocean observational campaigns in the U.S. and the only existing research-grade, offshore fixed tower along the U.S. east coast. MORS-1 builds on an initial metocean campaign started in 2016 at the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT), located 10 NM away from the Rhode Island and Massachusetts wind energy lease areas in 17-m of water. The ASIT is a facility of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and maintained by WHOI for both basic and applied science users. MORS-1 is both a organizational structure that will ensure the long term support of the facility by the wider wind energy industry and research community, and a highly validated data collection and sensor validation facility, using a non-profit, joint industry-academic partnership model. To date, MORS-1 has collected six years of near-continuous, publicly available, high quality, hub height wind observations using advanced lidar-based sensors and multiple lidar buoy validations. Data collected at MORS-1 are facilitating improved model assessments of the wind resource, improved short-term power production estimates, and reduced costs for sensor validation and calibration efforts. The site is pre-permitted for lidar buoy validations, streamlining the validation process for users.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the capabilities of the MORS-1, its data and uses, and potential impact on their business or research objectives.
See the benefits of metocean reference stations to both the industry and the public that far outweigh the cost of setting up the facility itself.
