Effect of Offshore Wind farm Design on the Vertical Motion of the Ocean

In this study the vertical motion of the ocean is studied numerically. A wake model that includes details of the wind farm design, such as the location of the turbines, diameter of rotors and hub height, is used to calculate the change in surface wind speed resulting from potential wind farms in the Havsul area. Using the calculated wind velocities to force a three dimensional ocean model (Regional Ocean Modeling System), the ocean response to two different wind farm designs is estimated. It is found that the wind farm design has a significant effect on the upwelling and downwelling near the wind farm, as the difference in maximum upwelling velocity after 1 day of simulation exceeds 30 m/day. The pronounced changes in vertical velocities are attributed to changes in the horizontal flow over varying topography due to wind stress modifications by the wind farms.