Deutsche WindGuard Consulting has been contracted by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) as part of the preliminary investigation of new offshore wind farm sites in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the North Sea.
The testing and calibration laboratory from Varel, Germany, will prepare, among other things, comprehensive reports on the meteorological conditions on areas N-13.1, N-13.2 and N-6.8, which are scheduled for tender in 2026 and 2027.
On behalf of the Federal Network Agency, the BSH conducts the centralised preliminary investigations of sites defined by the site development plan.
Deutsche WindGuard’s project coordinator and deputy head of site & energy assessment Johannes Cordes said: “We are very pleased that the BSH again counts on our extensive expertise and many years of experience in analysing wind conditions.
“For the offshore sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3, put out to tender by the German Federal Network Agency end of February 2024, we have already delivered corresponding reports, which the BSH published along with the invitation to tender.
“We are currently working on the investigation of the meteorological conditions of the areas N-10.1 and N-10.2 scheduled for tender in 2025.”
In each case, part one of the contracted scope includes the concurrent review of the meteorological measurements performed by other contractors using floating LiDAR buoys.
In the second part, the measurement data obtained serves the Energy Yield & Site Assessment expert team as a basis.
Cordes explained: “In order to reliably assess the wind potential, a correction of the measurement data is necessary, considering wake effects of neighbouring wind farms.
“At Deutsche WindGuard we even go one step further.
“To take into account grid-related curtailments of nearby wind farms, we conduct a dynamic wake correction of each 10-minute measurement value based on different wake modelling approaches, which makes this correction more realistic and significantly more accurate.
“With the help of different correlation techniques, we then extrapolate the corrected data to a long-term reference for a period of at least 10 years.
“Incorporating additional modelling data, we finally transfer the measured, corrected and long-term extrapolated wind conditions to the sites under investigation.”
Head of site & energy assessment at Deutsche WindGuard Martin Strack added: “With regards to the respective auctions for the offshore wind farm sites by the German Federal Network Agency, our reports provide potential bidders with a reliable database for individual calculations.
“I am particularly pleased that in addition to the wind potential analyses for new offshore sites, we have also been commissioned by BSH to compile a multi-year reference time series.
“Like a virtual met mast, it collates all previous measurement data and will therefore represent an important reference for North Sea wind conditions in the future.”