by Brianna Crandall — May 21, 2014—As a part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of three pioneering offshore wind demonstrations to receive up to $47 million each over the next four years to deploy innovative, grid-connected systems in federal and state waters by 2017. These projects—located off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia—will help speed the deployment of more efficient offshore wind power technologies.
Building on the Energy Department’s broader efforts to launch a competitive and sustainable offshore wind industry in the United States, these demonstration projects are expected to help further lower costs, drive greater performance, and clear hurdles to installing more utility-scale turbines in U.S. waters, thereby offering facilities around the country to chance to include wind power in their energy portfolio.
“Offshore wind offers a large, untapped energy resource for the United States that can create thousands of manufacturing, construction and supply chain jobs across the country and drive billions of dollars in local economic investment,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The Energy Department is working with public and private partners to harness this untapped resource in a sustainable and economic manner. The offshore wind projects announced today further this commitment—bringing more clean, renewable energy to our homes and businesses, diversifying our energy portfolio, and reducing costs through innovation.”
In December 2012, the Energy Department announced seven offshore wind demonstration projects, which have focused on design, engineering, and permitting work. The three projects just selected are aimed at deploying offshore wind installations in U.S. waters by 2017:
- Fishermen’s Energy will install five 5-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines approximately three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, utilizing an innovative, U.S.-developed twisted jacket foundation that is simpler and less expensive to manufacture and install than traditional offshore wind foundations.
- Principle Power will install five 6-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines approximately 18 miles off the coast of Coos Bay, Oregon. The U.S.-developed WindFloat semi-submersible floating foundation will be installed in water more than 1,000 feet deep, demonstrating an innovative solution for deep water wind turbine projects and lowering costs by simplifying installation and eliminating the need for highly specialized ships.
- Dominion Virginia Power will install two 6-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines 26 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, utilizing a U.S.-designed twisted jacket foundation to demonstrate installation, operation and maintenance methods for wind turbines located far from shore, as well as hurricane-resilient design.
The proposals from the University of Maine and from the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation offered additional innovative approaches that will further enhance the properties of American offshore wind technology options once ready for deployment. This includes concrete semi-submersible foundations as well as monopile foundations designed to reduce ice loading.
Taken together, the innovations being developed and demonstrated are expected to position the United States to lower the barriers to significant offshore wind, contributing to a low-carbon future and supporting the Obama Administration’s comprehensive National Offshore Wind Strategy to develop a sustainable, world-class offshore wind industry. Learn more at the Wind Program’s Offshore Wind Research and Development Web page.
