This document discusses a multi-stage screening process for siting wind farms in Rhode Island coastal waters using marine spatial planning tools. The process involves two tiers: Tier 1 screens for adequate wind resources and excludes areas based on hard constraints. A Technology Development Index is also calculated based on the technical challenge to power production potential to further screen sites. Tier 2 screens for ecological and human use impacts. Maps and data on wind resources, technology challenges, oceanography, and ecology are presented to inform the siting process. The marine spatial planning approach is concluded to be effective for comprehensive, inclusive, and consistent planning for offshore renewable energy facilities.

1. Siting of Wind Farms in RI Coastal
Waters:
Wind Resources and Technology
Development Index
Malcolm L. Spaulding
Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island
Workshop Applying Coastal Marine Spatial
Planning to Energy Siting
May 23-25, 2011

2. Goal:
Develop and implement an open,
transparent , objective procedure for
selecting the location of an offshore
renewable energy facility that
maximizes power production, and
minimizes cost and environmental and
human use impacts.

3. Multi-Stage Screening Process
Using Marine Spatial Planning Tools
1 st Tier –
Hard constraints (irreconcilable difference in uses)
System optimization: power production vs technical
challenge (cost).
2 nd Tier –
Ecological and human use impacts

4. Tier #1 Screening (Hard Constraints)
Wind Resource
 Adequate Wind Resources ( greater than 7 m/sec at 80 m, hub
height) or similar for other ocean energy sources (≥1.5 m/sec
currents, ≥ 10 kW/m waves)
Exclusions
 Navigation areas -regulated ( shipping lanes, precautionary
areas, preferred routes)
 Vessel tracks ( AIS data)
 Ferry routes
 Regulated areas ( disposal site, military areas, unexploded
ordnance, marine protected areas)
 Airport buffer zones
 Coastal buffer zone ( 1 km)
 Cable Areas (?)

5. Tier #1 Screening (cont’d)
 Technology Development Challenge
Water depth range, dependent on technology
Mono-piles -
5 to 25 to 30 m
Lattice jacket/tripod -
30 to 60 m
Floating –
60 to 1000 m

7. Wind Resource Map, Southern New England

8. Estimates of 80 m wind speeds
AWS TrueWinds data

10. Wind Roses, Southern NE

11. Wind Power Roses, Southern NE

12. RAM Meteorological Modeling Domains

13. RAM Meteorological Model Prediction, NW winds

14. Comparison of Model Predictions
to Observations

16. Technology Development Index
Objective: Develop a metric based on technical
challenge to power production potential to screen for
sites.
TDI = TCI/PPP
where TDI –Technology Development Index
TCI- Technical Challenge Index
PPP- Power Production Potential
Presented in form of dimensionless values (predicted TDI
divided by lowest TDI possible in area of interest)

17. Schafer and Hartshorn, 1965; Sirkin, 1982
End Moraines of Southeastern New England

19. Mohegan Bluffs, BI – Complex
Stratigraphy

20. -
Boothroyd and Sirkin, 2002
Mohegan Bluffs, BI – Complex Stratigraphy

22. Technology challenge for
lattice jacket structures
(Jonas, 2010)

28. AIS SERIES

30. Visualization Series

34. TDI- In stream tidal current
Threshold - 1
m/sec
Threshold – 1.3
m/sec

35. Block Island Topography and Land
Cover

36. Observed Wind Speed and Power Roses

37. NW wind case – October 30, 2008

38. SW Wind case –July 8, 2008

39. Model predicted average wind speed
at 10 and 80 m

40. Extreme Waves in Vicinity of Block Island
Bathymetry
Wave rose
Extreme Wave Amplitude
Once in 100 yrs

41. High Resolution Technology Development Index- Block Island

42. High Resolution Application of TDI
Block Island (state waters)

45. OCEANOGRAPHIC REGIONS Oceanographic
variables
SST
STRATIFICATION
FALL SPRING
12.5 m
27.5 m

46. GEOMORPHOLOGIC VARIABLES
BOTTOM
ROUGHNESS (J.King
GRAIN SIZE : PHI MEDIAN
SLOPE
DEPTH

47. FALL SPRING
Oceanographic
Ecological

48. FALL
TYPOLOGY
Cluster
fall
Biodiversity
Index
Richness
Index
Dominant group
Sakonnet 10 7.1 Demersal
Skate&squid
Deep 5.7 5.7 Medium game
Mammals
Rocky 7.5 7.1 Demersal
RIS 9.5 8.6 Demersal
Mammals
Littoral 9.5 10 Demersal, skate&Lobster

49. SPRING
TYPOLOGY
Cluster Biodiversity
Index
Richness
Index
Dominant group
Deep 6.5 8.4 Mammals
(Demersal & Herring)
RIS2 10 10 Demersal & Herring
Rocky/BIS 6 8.4 Demersal & Mammals
RIS 6 6.8 Herring & Mammals
Littoral 5.7 6.3 Demersal& Lobster

50. Conclusions
• Ocean SAMP very effective approach to planning for and
siting offshore renewable energy facilities: comprehensive,
inclusive, cost effective, and consistent with state and
federal regulatory framework.
• Marine spatial planning (MSP) powerful tool to assist in
siting decisions and assessing tradeoffs (new tools:
technology development index, ecosystem valuation
approaches(in progress))