The ECN part of TNO, KNMI and Whiffle consortium have released the new and improved Dutch Offshore Wind Atlas (DOWA). The wind is mapped up-to 600m in height and the daily variability of the wind captured for all to view. With this information the Dutch government and wind farm developers can plan, build and operate offshore wind farms even more efficiently.
It comprises the following main features:
- Wind speed and direction information across the whole Dutch part of the North Sea, including the offshore wind development zones Borssele, Hollandse Kust Zuid and Hollandse Kust Noord
- Wind speed and direction information ranging up to an altitude of 600m
- Total coverage of 10 years up to 2017 and updated with 2018 wind information
- Spatial resolution of 2.5 km2 and wind information for every hour
DOWA makes use of the latest versions of numerical European Weather models available and takes inputs from existing measurement sources to obtain the best quality output. Furthermore, DOWA allows for connecting to the very fine scale forecasting models of Whiffle’s LES model “GRASP” for detailed wind field and wind turbine resolving modelling. As a result, not only the wind turbine yield but also the wind turbine loading can accurately be assessed. Last but not least, DOWA outputs wind information at altitudes ranging up to 600 metres.
