Offshore wind energy consortium to provide $7M in grants for wind technology
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium will award up to $7 million in funding for offshore wind technology projects.
The goal is to identify innovative technology to further drive down costs of offshore wind development in the United States.
“This initial solicitation is an important step in moving ahead with the technical improvements that are going to be necessary to reduce the long-0term cost of offshore wind and ensure it will be an important component of meeting our long-term energy goals. It is very encouraging that we have been able to move so quickly,” said Robert Catell, chairman of the consortium’s board and chairman of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center.
The consortium will seek proposal that foster reductions in the lifetime average cost of offshore wind energy while overcoming domestic market challenges in offshore wind technology. Proposals should address the following challenges: wind turbine array performance and control optimization; cost-reducing turbine support structures for the U.S. market; floating structure mooring concepts for shallow and deep waters; and power system design and innovation.
“Private-public partnerships and state-to-state collaborations are critical to achieving New York’s nation-leading clean energy and climate agenda. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, we are actively planning for our clean energy future in a way that supports the successful development of the burgeoning national offshore wind industry. Today’s announcement reaffirms the Consortium’s commitment to reduce costs, address development barriers, and move forward collectively to advance responsible development of offshore wind in the Northeast and United States as a whole,” Alicia Barton, president and CEO of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) said.
In June 2018, NYSERDA was awarded $18.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to lead the nationwide offshore wind technology research and development consortium. The board of directors includes offshore wind industry leaders from around the world, states, U.S. representatives of national utilities and national laboratories. Members include industry leaders from Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC); The Carbon Trust International, Inc.; National Grid; NYSERDA; Renewables Consulting Group; U.S. national laboratories as well as offshore wind developers Avangrid Renewables; EDF Renewable Energy; EDP Renewables; Equinor; Innogy; Northland Power; Ørsted; and Shell. Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts wind officials, along with EnBW North America, Vineyard Wind, and Anbaric Development Partners joined the consortium earlier this year.
“The offshore wind industry is rapidly mobilizing for construction of the first commercial-scale projects in the United States,” Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Program Director Nils Bolgen said. “Strategically focused R&D will be critical to the advancement of this new American industry, and this solicitation provides important resources that will help connect our research and testing community with industry players, driving innovation that will reduce costs and broaden markets.”
