 U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
Meteorological, Oceanographic and Other Observations in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Development
 Offshore wind energy development projects are progressing in several states along the U.S. eastern seaboard. Projects in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia are already well into in the planning phase. Each of these development projects requires a suite of meteorological, oceanographic and other observations to support siting, installation and operation of offshore wind farms in U.S. coastal waters. Requirements include permitting, estimates of the power production potential, and input to engineering design. Initial data collection, typically from an offshore observation tower, is normally one of the first items undertaken as it is critical to have sufficient environmental information to obtain financing for the projects.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System program (IOOS) and the NOAA IOOS Program Office are working to enhance the nation's ability to collect, deliver, and use ocean information. The goal is to provide continuous data on our open oceans, coastal waters, and Great Lakes in the formats, rates, and scales required by scientists, managers, businesses, governments, and the public to support research and inform decision-making. IOOS is a partnership between the federal government, led by NOAA, and 11 Regional Associations covering the coastal waters for the U.S., the Great Lakes, territories and commonwealths (www.nfra.org). The RAs representing the Atlantic east coast include NERACOOS (Northeast), MACOORA (Mid Atlantic) and SECOORA (Southeast Atlantic). IOOS RAs received approximately $20 M in FY09 funding to support a variety of activities such as Coast Guard Search And Rescue, rip-current forecasting, fisheries management, water quality monitoring, hazardous material spill response, and storm-driven coastal flooding forecasts.
Given the shared interest in coastal observations from both offshore wind energy developers and the mission of the IOOS and its RAs to provide data to meet end user needs, it is proposed that the two communities meet to discuss possibilities for collaboration. The initial workshop is scheduled to be held on February 2, 2009 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and will be hosted by the RAs. The invitees include offshore wind farm developers and their consultants, key partners in the regional associations, and key federal (NOAA, MMS, US Army Corp, and FERC) and state regulators. The timing of this meeting has been set to merge into the existing wind development plans of the host state. New Jersey has its final Offshore Wind Development Stakeholder Meeting scheduled for February 19, 2009. We thank all participants for their understanding as we put this meeting together on a short time schedule.
The meeting agenda includes a morning information sharing session and an afternoon collaboration plan development session. Initial topics on the agenda include:
- Overview of state development plans including NJ, RI and others.
- Overview of IOOS and Regional Associations on-going programs and their ability to provide observations in coastal and shelf waters.
- Overview of offshore wind energy developers' plans.
- Discussion of industry needs.
- Time for small groups to focus on specific topics of interest
- Group development of a prioritized collaborative path forward.
For further information, contact the Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab , 732-932-6555 x501, Scott Glenn
or Courtney Kohut
.
View Meeting Agenda (.doc)
Registration Form (.pdf)
Directions to IMCS (.pdf)
List of Attendees (.xls)
View and Download Meeting Presentations (link)
NOAA Regional Partners (.pdf)
|
