%0 conference paper %@ %A Schneiderhan, T., Schulz-Stellenfleth, J., Lehner, S., Horstmann, J. %D 2004 %J Coastal and Marine Applications of SAR, Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop, ESA SP-565 %N 565 %P 69-74 %T SAR wind fields for offshore wind farming %U 565 %X A technique to measure wind fields with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and their relevance for offshore wind farming is described. SAR are capable of imaging synoptic wind fields with a coverage of up to 500 km × 500 km, and a resolution of down to 100 m. SAR retrieved wind fields will help in optimal positioning of wind turbines within the wind farms, and investigate the changes of the high-resolution wind fields due to the wind turbines. Satellite borne SAR will improve mesoscale models used for short term power forecast, increase the awareness of wind farmers to use remote sensing data in their planning, and estimate the effects offshore wind farms have on the environment.