In 2020, the first Belgian offshore wind-farm zone with a capacity of 2.2 GW was completed, putting Belgium in third place in the world rankings of offshore wind capacity at the time. In 2021, Belgian offshore wind covered the annual electricity demand of almost 2 million households, or 8% of the
total electricity demand in Belgium, ranking it third worldwide in terms of offshore wind share in the electricity mix. In view of ambitions to accelerate the energy transition, capacity will be nearly tripled to almost 6 GW in the next decade, sustaining an estimated 24 000 Belgian jobs.

A major challenge in systems with a large wind-energy penetration is the intermittent and non-dispatchable nature of the wind resource. This can be mitigated by detailed wind power forecasting. However, operational models struggle with quantitatively predicting high-impact weather, such as storms or wind ramps, both in timing and severity. The importance of accurately forecasting such events is even more pronounced in Belgium, where offshore farms are clustered together and jointly impacted, leading to grid imbalance and resulting economic losses. Adding to the complexity of offshore wind power forecasting is the lack of high-resolution measurements in an offshore context, which restricts insight into wind turbine and farm wakes, and the amount of data available for assimilation in weather models.

BeFORECAST will employ next-generation diagnostics combined with high-fidelity numerical models to enhance weather analysis and forecasting models, with the aim of improved monitoring, reconstruction and prediction of wind-farm flows and power production. Specific demonstrations for the Belgian offshore zones will illustrate the impact on the Belgian energy transition. The multi-disciplinary BeFORECAST consortium is in a unique position to address the challenges mentioned above. The research performed within BeFORECAST is timely, as recent technological developments finally allow its goals to be achieved. The expertise of individual partners, each of which is leading in their respective field, combined with existing partnerships and links to industry, facilitate successful project execution and further joint efforts with high domestic impact.