Offshore wind farms could slow hurricanes before they reach land say scientists

Offshore wind turbine, Thames Estuary. Photograph by Phault

Offshore wind farms are an increasingly popular source of green energy, but they may offer a secondary purpose in the US in slowing down hurricanes before they reach land according to new research.

In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists from the University of Delaware found that when wind turbines are present, they slow down the outer rotation winds of hurricanes. A reduction in these winds has a domino effect in reducing wave heights, which in turn reduce the suction of air towards the centre of the hurricane, which increases the central pressure, which slows the winds of the hurricane allowing it to dissipate more quickly.

However, to have such a drastic effect on a hurricane, the wind turbines need to be installed in huge arrays consisting of tens of thousands, with smaller wind farms likely to be destroyed too quickly to become a feasible energy source according to a study by scientists from Carnegie Mellon published in the the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.