NCCOS Assessment: A Wind Energy Siting Analysis for the Gulf of Mexico Call Area, 1993-01-01 to 2022-03-04 (NCEI Accession 0277985)

This data collection contains geospatial data from models predicting the suitability of Wind Energy Areas (WEA) for the Gulf of Mexico Call Area. It includes a constraints shapefile created using 18 data layers that represent conflicts for offshore wind development. Also included is a final suitability shapefile, created using 53 data layers. The geometric mean of the six submodels (i.e., national security, industry, and operation, natural and cultural resources, fisheries, logistics, and economics) was used to calculate an overall suitability score. The geometric mean was chosen because it grants equal importance to each variable (Bovee 1986; Longdill et al. 2008; Silva et al. 2011; Muñoz-Mas et al. 2012). Furthermore, all submodels had equal weight within the suitability model. The resulting suitability score is for general offshore wind spatial planning, with scores approaching 0 representing low suitability and 1 representing high suitability relative to the other grid cells. Any grid that contained a data layer with a 0 score (i.e., constraints data layer) was deemed unsuitable for offshore wind development.