# ESOX by LAUTEC - Offshore Weather Downtime Modeling 

  

> ESOX is a free, web-based platform from LAUTEC for modeling offshore and onshore weather downtime (WDT) and weather windows for offshore and onshore wind projects. It combines a global interactive map with 35 years of ERA5 metocean reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and statistical simulation tools, letting developers, EPC/installation contractors, and metocean analysts estimate downtime, find optimal installation windows, and benchmark sites worldwide. Free tools (ESOX Zander, ESOX Excel) are downloaded directly from the map; paid options (ESOX Excel Custom, ESOX Python consulting) handle higher-complexity scenarios. 

  

## About ESOX and LAUTEC 

  

- [ESOX home](https://esox.lautec.com/): Overview of the ESOX platform, its free and paid tools, and the ERA5-backed global map. 

- [LAUTEC company site](https://lautec.com/): LAUTEC is a consultancy and software provider for wind and renewable energy projects; developer of ESOX since 2015. 

- [LAUTEC software](https://lautec.com/software/): Software products LAUTEC builds for offshore wind, onshore wind and solar energy project planning and execution. 

  

## Tools 

  

- [ESOX map](https://esox.lautec.com/map/): Global interactive map of ERA5 data points (blue dots). Click any point to download free ESOX Zander or ESOX Excel tools, browse water depths, measure distances/areas, and explore wind farm areas. 

- [ESOX Zander](https://esox.lautec.com/): Free tool that generates custom month-by-month weather window tables in seconds, with adjustable minimum weather-window duration, time-of-day limits, and persistence exceedance percentiles. Output delivered as an Excel sheet. 

- [ESOX Excel](https://esox.lautec.com/esox-excel/): Free Excel tool to simulate and analyze weather downtime for most offshore and onshore installation activities, so all project participants can run analysis without cost or a learning curve. 

- [ESOX Excel Custom](https://esox.lautec.com/): Paid, custom-built versions of ESOX Excel tailored to individual client project requirements. 

- [ESOX Python / ESOX+ consulting](https://esox.lautec.com/esox-plus/): Advanced, flexible in-house tool used by LAUTEC specialists on a consulting basis for high-complexity, niche simulation scenarios. 

  

## How it works 

  

- [Methodology & resources](https://esox.lautec.com/resources/): How ESOX builds an activity list, scans ERA5 time series for qualifying weather windows, records weather downtime (WDT) while waiting, and reports results at user-defined confidence percentiles (e.g. P50, P75, P90). 

- [Copernicus C3S case study](https://climate.copernicus.eu/esox-lautec-using-climate-data-simulate-offshore-wind-power-operations): Independent write-up of how ESOX uses ERA5 reanalysis data (10 m & 100 m wind speed, significant wave height, peak wave period) to simulate offshore wind operations globally. 

  

## Data sources 

  

- 35 years of ERA5 metocean reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) 

- 9 metocean parameters: mean wind speed (10 m, 100 m, and estimated 150 m), 10 m wind gusts, significant wave height (Hs), peak wave period (Tp), relative humidity, total precipitation, and 2 m mean temperature (24-hour average). 

  

## Key facts 

  

- ESOX has been used by world leading companies since 2015 to model transport, pre-assembly, load-out, transit, installation, commissioning, and operation activities for offshore wind projects across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. 

- Typical users: offshore wind developers/owners, EPC and installation contractors, and metocean/marine analysts; also used by governments pre-tender and university researchers. 

- Free tools require no procurement, scripting, or specialist software. 

  

## Optional 

  

- [Resources & guides](https://esox.lautec.com/resources/): Deeper explanations of the simulation methodology. 

- [LAUTEC blog](https://lautec.com/): Articles on weather windows, weather downtime, and offshore wind project planning (e.g. custom weather window tables with ESOX Zander).