Onshore and offshore wind energy potential assessment near Lake Erie shoreline: A spatial and temporal analysis

Highlights: • Wind energy assessment for the 1st freshwater wind farm in North America. • The spatio-temporal characteristics of wind resource both onshore and offshore. • The seasonal and diurnal characteristics of wind and implications on wind energy outputs. • Boundary layer effects along offshore, nearshore, and onshore sites. Choosing a proper location is a pivotal initial step in building a wind farm. As appropriate locations for onshore wind farms become more and more scarce, offshore wind farms have drawn significant attention. The coastal line of the Great Lakes is an area that has great wind energy potential. This research conducted detailed statistical analysis of the onshore, nearshore, and offshore wind energy potential of Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio. It analyzed the wind data collected in 10-min time intervals from three locations near the Lake Erie shoreline to assess wind characteristics. Statistical analyses of wind data include the Weibull shape and scale factors, turbulence intensity, and wind power density. In addition, the capacity factor and the potential energy output are estimated by using two commercial wind turbines, which are appropriate for the sites at 50 m and 80 m hub heights. The results show that offshore sites will produce at least 1.7 times more energy than the onshore and nearshore sites when using the same commercial wind turbine. Furthermore, offshore wind turbines could produce more power during peak hours in the spring and winter. This indicates that offshore wind turbines offer advantages over onshore wind turbines in Lake Erie.