Validation of the Ensemble Generalized Analog Regression Downscaling (En-GARD) Model to Downscale Near-Surface Wind Speed for the Northeast United States

Wind, often overlooked in climate change impact assessments, is now a crucial atmospheric variable due to our imminent reliance on renewable energy sources like wind energy. Therefore, establishing a wind speed database in higher temporal and spatial resolution is of great importance to assess wind power in historical periods and future projections. This study focuses on enhancing wind data representation and reliability of statistically downscaled model outputs by refining grid spacing from coarser to a desirable finer scale. Employing the Ensemble Generalized Analog Regression Downscaling (En-GARD) technique, we downscaled near-surface wind speed across a northeast (NE) U.S. domain that combines onshore and offshore wind farm areas. We tested multiple atmospheric variable combinations and identified near-surface wind speed (wind speed at 10 m), longitudinal and latitudinal wind at 10 m, and atmospheric temperature at 2 m, as the set that effectively guides the selection of analog days for the analog regression downscaling approach. Validation involved using ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis products (31 km) and high-resolution (4 km) Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model simulations. Downscaling was conducted using a leave-one-year-out approach over 12 years (2001–12). Statistical analysis of the downscaled output over this period demonstrated a significant correlation and low error metrics (less than 20% for normalized RMSE and 16% for normalized MAE), indicating the reliability of the method and paving the way for its future application to downscale climate projection outputs.