Overview of the potential of floating wind in Europe based on met-ocean data derived from the ERA5-dataset

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the potential of floating wind in Europe. Wind and wave data from the ERA5 dataset as well as bathymetry data are analysed to identify regions suitable for floating wind deployment. The most promising areas are quantified according to different characteristics (wind resource, bathymetry, distance to the coast). The wind resource is quantified in terms of averaged wind velocity and wind availability at 100 m height above sea level. The results show the great potential of Ireland, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. Indeed, a large part of the seas of these countries is located in water depths between 60 and 1000 meters and has a very high wind resource despite stronger wave conditions than in other countries. In addition, Spain, France, Sweden, Finland and Greece all exhibit good potential.