Interaction of Wind Farms with Offshore Low-level Jets Using Multiscale Large-Eddy Simulations

deling to improve simulation-driven estimation of performance and reliability metrics. In this work, we build on this need to understand the potential impact of coastal low-level jets on offshore wind installations through high-fidelity simulations. Coastal low-level jets (LLJ) are mesoscale-driven wind events associated with a non-monotonic velocity profiles whose maximum value occurs at the so-called “jet nose” with a strong positive shear below the nose and a negative shear above it. Our recent work based on LIDAR measurements within the lowest 200 m marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) in the New York Bight has shown that LLJ occur 2-7% within a year. The present work is motivated by its prevalence as well as a current lack of understanding of its characteristics and its impact on offshore wind turbines. We leverage high-fidelity modeling techniques developed as part of the ExaWind suite to understand the interactions between low-level jet turbulence and wind farms. The talk will highlight key results from our analysis: (i) of the meso-micro coupling strategies and how this impacts the inflow to the first row of wind farms; (ii) evolution of key loads along the rows of a wind farm and (iii) how the wake evolution interacts with the background turbulence to impact wind recovery and thereby, the inflow to the downstream turbines. This analysis has shed light on the nature of deleterious impacts of LLJs to wind farms as well as insights to mitigation strategies.