Wind

Challenge and Opportunity in Wind

Wind energy, particularly offshore wind, needs to radically scale up to meet renewable energy needs. As this scale up is happening, the sustainability, equity, efficiency, and reliability of these new wind farms also needs to be assured. Large improvements in efficiency can radically increase the amount of reliance society places in these new power sources, while even small advancements can lead to big savings in terms of embodied carbon. How can we support rapid adoption, while embracing societal equity issues in that adoption in parallel with improved engineering solutions for efficiency, reliability, and sustainability? These inter-connected issues drive ROSEI’s efforts in the wind energy field.

Featured Stories in Wind
Johns Hopkins University has recently released a free, comprehensive, public wind farm database developed through the university’s Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Read more
Julie Lundquist, the new Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Wind Energy at Johns Hopkins University, is an atmospheric scientist who Read more
  A collaboration between researchers from Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and Portland State University (PSU) aims to Read more
When she was an undergraduate student studying English literature, Julie Lundquist added a physics major because she enjoyed math and Read more
Researchers from the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) and Morgan State University are teaming up with the State of Read more
This story originally appeared in the Hub. Wind power produces over 8% of our nation's electricity, up from less than Read more
Leadership in Wind

Dennice F. Gayme

Leadership Council, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Julie K. Lundquist

Leadership Council, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Wind Energy, Departments of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Mechanical Engineering

Charles Meneveau

Louis M. Sardella Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Participating Faculty in Wind

Benjamin W. Schafer

ROSEI Director, Willard and Lillian Hackerman Professor of Civil and Systems Engineering

Uzi “Yury” Dvorkin

Leadership Council, Associate Professor, Departments of Civil and Systems Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering

Benjamin F. Hobbs

Theodore M. and Kay W. Schad Professor of Environmental Management Department of Environmental Health and Engineering

Magdalena Klemun

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering

Branko Kosović

Associate Research Scientist, Ralph O'Connor Sustainable Energy Institute

Michael Levien

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology

Rachel Sangree

Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering

Michael Shields

Professor, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering

Abe Silverman

Assistant Research Scholar, Ralph O'Connor Sustainable Energy Institute
Technical Papers from Wind Scholars
An Initiative Completed

On May 21, 2025 a free, comprehensive, public wind farm database developed through ROSEI was released.

A multi-year effort led by two of ROSEI’s leaders in its wind pillar Dennice Gayme and Charles Meneveau, the Johns Hopkins Turbulence Databases – Wind (JHTDB-wind) provides massive amounts of data from computer simulations of turbulent flow in wind turbine arrays to help in wind farm design, analysis and operational increases to power output. The publicly available resource supports everything from academic studies to practical wind farm planning and development projects.

JHTDB-wind is currently comprised of two datasets. The first, titled “LES of large wind farm under conventionally neutral atmospheric conditions,” simulates a large wind farm under conditions where temperature differences across different heights in the atmosphere are negligibly small such as during sunset or on cloudy days. It functions as a baseline in terms of the atmospheric conditions.

The second dataset, titled “LES of large wind farm during a diurnal cycle,” simulates a smaller wind farm over 24 hours. During daylight, the sun heats the ground, creating convective conditions with rising air plumes that generate turbulence and interact with wind farms. At nighttime, temperatures drop, causing colder air to drift downward, reducing turbulence.

ROSEI Launches ARROW Targeting Offshore Wind Energy Growth

Researchers from ROSEI and Morgan State University have teamed up with the State of Maryland’s Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to establish the Maryland presence in a new national center supporting offshore wind energy. The effort aims to expand the local offshore wind industry and provide greater opportunities for Maryland residents and businesses to participate in the growing clean energy economy.

The national center, which is receiving $1 million in funding from MEA as well as further financial support from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), will be jointly developed and implemented by JHU and Morgan State. It was established through the Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW) and will be housed across both universities, working in key areas of education and research.

“This effort leverages partnerships with schools and entities that were initiated by ROSEI, JHU’s new leader for sustainable energy. We are excited to work with Morgan State and MEA to bring more resources for offshore wind energy to the state of Maryland,” said Ben Schafer, director of ROSEI and a professor of civil and systems engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering. “By being a member of this new national center, MEA, Hopkins, and Morgan State are announcing that we are in it for the long haul to make the energy transition work with offshore wind in Maryland.”

Partners in Wind
  • ARROW (Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind)
  • NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
  • NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research)
  • NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
  • PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
  • ANL (Argonne National Laboratory)
  • LLNL (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
  • WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
  • Morgan State University
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Portland State University
  • University of Texas Dallas
  • University of California Berkeley
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Puerto Rico
  • SUNY Albany
  • Danish Technical University
  • University of Oldenburg
  • FORWIND (Zentrum für Windenergieforschung)
  • Delft University of Technology
  • Technische Universität Braunschweig
  • German Aerospace Center
Recent News
A contingent of Hopkins faculty members and graduate students affiliated with the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) were very Read more
The Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) had a large contingent participate at the first annual Summer Education Accelerator (ARROW-SEA) Read more
After serving seven years in the Air Force following high school and completing two years at Anne Arundel Community College, Read more
Johns Hopkins University has recently released a free, comprehensive, public wind farm database developed through the university’s Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Read more
Johns Hopkins University has unveiled its comprehensive plan to strengthen environmental protections over the next decade by implementing sustainable practices Read more
Julie Lundquist, the new Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Wind Energy at Johns Hopkins University, is an atmospheric scientist who Read more