USA: Student to Present Atlantic Ocean Wind Power Maps

At Quest on Wednesday, April 18, Brittany Gibbons will display and talk about the computer-generated maps she has spent the academic year developing for offshore wind power—not for Lake Ontario off Oswego, but for the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to New Jersey.

Ocean-based wind power “has just been a growing source of interest,” said the senior meteorology major. “The onshore wind towers around Oswego are not going anywhere, and we have done previous studies.”

Gibbons’ presentation will be among hundreds of activities at Quest, the college’s signature day to celebrate the scholarship and creativity of students, faculty and staff.

The senior meteorology major from Binghamton knows offshore wind power is a hot-button topic but sailed into the research project for her honors thesis.

 “I could see how it could cause disturbances among fish and migrating birds, and people living oceanside do not want to see the towers from their homes,” Gibbons said. “We just have to figure out a happy medium.”

 Powerful research

Gibbons, under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Ballentine of the meteorology department, has worked collecting data on offshore wind direction, speed, sustainability and more from a meteorological numerical prediction model called WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting).

With a computer program developed by meteorology faculty member Dr. Steven Skubis, Gibbons interpolates the data to maps—in vivid colors—showing such features as optimum distance from shore and tower height for the familiar wind-driven power generators. A viable business model is equally important.

 “So far with a mini-tab analysis we have found specific distances in the spring where sustainable winds are seen to level off at 10 meters per second,” she said. “Beyond that distance, it doesn’t make economic sense, because the tower foundations would have to be built in much deeper water for relatively the same amount of energy as in shallower waters.”

Gibbons plans to put to work all she is learning. She has an offer from New England utility NSTAR, based in Boston, for a six-month position to help connect customers to the power grid using sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar. She continues to look for her “ideal job,” as a wind analyst.

“I want to make a difference in the world, as corny as that sounds,” she said. “I hope in the jobs I apply for that I can continue to study wind power or solar energy that’s clean.”

The 2012 edition of Quest will offer presentations, exhibitions and events throughout the Campus Center, all of which are free and open to the public. Displays will range from art students’ works to scholarly posters on the building’s concourse to screenings and discussions of student-produced films.

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Offshore WIND staff, April 06, 2012; Image: oswego