Offshore Wind Team
The RUCOOL Offshore Wind team develops and advances the science that informs decision-making around offshore wind, both at a state and national level. We do this through research using both observations and models, and extensive engagement with stakeholders on the issues important to this new industry.
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The Growing Offshore Wind Industry
Offshore wind development in New Jersey reached new heights in 2020, with the previously awarded Ocean Wind project continuing to move forward, and a second round of solicitations taking place for the next tranche of offshore wind. These projects will be major contributions to Governor Murphy’s goal of 7,500 MW of offshore wind development in NJ’s coastal waters by 2035, as outlined in NJ’s Offshore Wind Strategic Plan. These efforts in NJ are complimented by similar efforts in states throughout the Mid-Atlantic, adding up to over 27 GW of offshore wind commitments.
As the push for offshore wind continues, it’s important to understand how the construction of large offshore wind farms will interact with the existing ocean environment. This includes a thorough understanding of the offshore wind resource, which is strongly influenced by the underlying ocean. How might wind turbines change the wind-driven ocean mixing, key to the setup and breakdown of the Mid-Atlantic Cold Pool? Perhaps most importantly, it’s vital that the offshore wind industry succeeds while protecting existing ocean uses, including the fishing industry, and endangered species such as the North Atlantic Right Whale.
RUCOOL Contributions
Since 2011, RUCOOL has worked with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on observing and modeling of NJ’s coastal wind resource. This includes our Coastal Metocean Monitoring Station, located adjacent to the Rutgers University Marine Field Station (RUMFS), one of the best equipped field sites along the entire Mid-Atlantic Coast. RUCOOL also runs a daily, real-time version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (RUWRF), allowing us to continue to build a continuous database of the modeled offshore wind resource. RUWRF is also a vital research tool in helping to answer questions around how the atmosphere and ocean interact in and around wind energy lease areas. RUCOOL also collaborates with wind energy developers, including Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ørsted Ocean Wind, on projects to better understand and protect our offshore environment. Finally, RUCOOL does extensive outreach to and discussion with all offshore wind stakeholders through our Partners in Science workshops, focus group, and webinar discussions.
