DOE funds target wind energy advancement
Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has earmarked $28 million to advance wind energy nationwide via 13 wind research, development, and demonstration projects.
“These projects will be instrumental in driving down technology costs and increasing consumer options for wind across the United States as part of our comprehensive energy portfolio,” Daniel R. Simmons, DOE assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said.
The DOE acknowledged while utility-scale, land-based wind energy here has grown to 96 gigawatts, significant opportunities remain for cost reductions remain, particularly in the areas of offshore wind, distributed wind, and tall wind.
The projects range throughout the technology development spectrum, covering all three wind energy sectors – distributed, offshore, and land-based utility-scale wind.
Four Wind Innovations for Rural Economic Development (WIRED) projects will receive a total of $6 million in federal funding to support rural electric utilities by developing technology to integrate wind with other distributed energy resources. Six projects will receive a total of $7 million to conduct testing in support of innovative offshore wind research and development utilizing existing national-level testing facilities. Two offshore wind technology demonstration projects will receive up to a total of $10 million to conduct additional project development activities that enable demonstration of innovative technologies or methodologies to reduce offshore wind energy risk and cost. One project will receive up to $5 million to validate manufacturing innovations and demonstrate cost-effective tall tower technology that can overcome the transportation constraints currently hindering tall tower installations in the United States.
