Canada Center for Inland Waters, CCIW (Environment Canada)

Most of the world’s offshore wind turbines are currently installed in Europe and China. There are plans in the USA but at present there is a moratorium on offshore windfarm developments in the Canadian controlled waters of the Great Lakes. If things change and a large scale offshore windfarm develops in the Great Lakes, we need to consider the impacts of it on the lake circulation and mixing. Lake Erie has a significant wind energy resources potential. Also, there are major coastal cities and industries with substantial electricity demands. The presence of large scale offshore wind farms will lead to reduced wind speed and wind stresses in the lake within and downwind of the farms. This will impact currents and mixing in lake waters, generally allowing increased surface temperatures and reduced summer time mixed layer depths.  Our group investigates and simulates the potential impacts of offshore wind farms on Lake Erie water circulation and temperature. We use COHERENS model software in our research .