DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR SUITABILITY OF OFFSHORE WIND FARM SITES AROUND JAPAN BASED ON A REGIONAL OCEAN CIRCULATION–BIOGEOCHEMICAL MODEL

Abstract

 Expansion of offshore wind power generation facilities (or offshore wind farm; OWF) has become a social issue for achieving carbon neutrality. One of the problems unique to Japan is the necessity to obtain the consent of fishing rights holders before constructing OWFs. The ultimate goal of the present study is to develop a comprehensive consensus-building system by quantitatively evaluating the nutrient supply to the ocean surface layer by enhanced vertical mixing associated with OWF facilities, which is often referred to as a "fishing bank effect" to provide gathering places for fishes. This manuscript particularly introduces a core component of the proposing system based on ROMS-NPZD regional circulation-biogeochemical model that further drives an embedded high-resolution model around the OWFs. Some results on the spatial evaluation method for each coastal and oceanic area to seek for suitable OWF sites are reported.