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The simulations ran on weather data from 2008 to 2017. Coastal regions downwind get less rain as a result. The team at Hereon’s Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling used a high-resolution regional climate model called COSMO-CLM. Using a full decade smoothed out the effect of any single unusual year and gave a clearer view of long-term patterns.
The researchers assumed maximum turbine deployment across all designated areas, which pushed installed capacity well past the 300 GW target. The scenario was extreme by design. The goal was to make any climate effect large enough to detect and measure. It is not a forecast of what Europe will build. So will Europe’s coasts lose rain? That depends on how the continent builds. The researchers are not arguing against offshore wind. They want more realistic scenarios tested for turbine density, farm size and placement, and they plan to study effects on the ocean and marine life next. For countries that share the same weather systems, where a wind farm goes may matter as much as how much power it produces.