Strategic Multi‑Use Port Infrastructure: Enhancing Australia’s Offshore Wind and Maritime Capabilities for a Sustainable Future Outlook

Downscaled High-Resolution National Assessment of Offshore Wind and Wave Climate Projections

Project Leader: Alberto Meucci (University of Melbourne)

Co-investigators: Guisela Grossman Matheson (University of Melbourne), Chun-Hsu Su (Bureau of Meteorology), Bryan Hally (CSIRO), Vanessa Hernaman (CSIRO), Daniel Machado (Iberdrola Australia), Ali Tamizi (BMT) and Ian R. Young (University of Melbourne)

Status: Completed

Downscaled High-Resolution National Assessment of Offshore Wind and Wave Climate Projections

Project Brief

This project provided a high-resolution assessment of the past, present and projected future of Australia’s offshore wind conditions, particularly in the country’s declared offshore wind zones. Crucial for informing the development of future offshore wind infrastructure, the project uses Australia's seven-model ensemble to assess wind speed projects and its effects on offshore wind energy production.

In collaboration with leading researchers, the project understands and consolidates forecasted wind and wave climate patterns in the next 30 to 50 years.

ACOWE’s support has helped them complete these key milestones:

  • Identifying regional trends and variability in wind energy potential
  • Using BARPA-CORDEX and BARRA-R2 datasets to create a comprehensive analysis of offshore wind energy resources
  • A research publication titled “Resilience of offshore wind resources in Australia under climate change using CMIP6 CORDEX projections” was published in the Energy and Climate Change Journal.
  • A follow-up project on metocean climate conditions and their projected effects on offshore wind developments in Australia.

The project revealed critical insight into the future of wind energy resources and the projected energy production values of the declared offshore wind zones in Australia. The reliability of wind energy production remains largely unchanged in the next 30 to 50 years, determining that there is confidence in the long-term quality of offshore wind resources across Australia.