The goals of the Lake Michigan Wind Assessment Project were to estimate the offshore wind energy potential as well as to test the effectiveness of the a laser wind sensor (LWS) unit.

To collect the data need to conduct the wind assessment study, the LWS unit was mounted on a 190 square foot floating platform and deployed in Lake Michigan. There are two independent variables of interest: height above the water surface and location in the lake. Dependent variables are wind speed as well as wind direction.

The LWS has six range gates which were centered at 75 m, 90 m, 105 m, 125 m, 150 m, and 175 m as well as a cup anemometer mounted 3 m above the platform deck.

Wind speed and direction were observed in 2012 near the mid-lake plateau close to the Michigan-Wisconsin state border approximately 56 km from the eastern shoreline (43.20N, 87.07W) from May 8 through December 17. In 2013, the measures were taken at approximately 10 km from the eastern shoreline near Muskegon, Michigan (43.16N, 86.30W) from April 28 through December 20.

From October 7 through November 3, 2011, the floating platform was deployed in Muskegon Lake adjacent to Lake Michigan for a validation study by comparison to a cup anemometer mounted on a met mast on the shoreline.

Details of these studies including results are presented in the Data, Monthly Buoy Report, Peer Reviewed Articles, Presentations, and Reports sections.

Requests for additional information concerning the study data should be directed to Professor Charles Standridge, School of Engineering, at GVSU (standric@gvsu.edu).