The US Department of Energy (DOE) selected the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to grant an $18.5 million offshore wind research and development (R&D) consortium. The consortium will gather industry, academia, government and other stakeholders to advance offshore wind plant technologies.
Namely, the consortium will establish innovative methods for wind resource and site characterization, as well as technology solutions for installation, operation, maintenance, and supply chain. The target of the consortium is to reduce the cost of offshore wind in the US.
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Currently, only one commercial offshore wind plant is operating in the US. To improve this situation, the research will focus on conditions such as
- Deep water, where floating foundations are required;
- Areas where the seabed conditions are not well understood;
- The impact of hurricanes on the East Coast;
- Challenging environments for installation and operations at sea.
NYSERDA will administer and coordinate the collaborative R&D activities of the consortium, which will consist of offshore wind industry members that will use the research findings to promote technologies that can reduce the cost of offshore wind in the US market. DOE will also provide an additional $2 million to DOE’s national laboratories to support consortium R&D activities.
Timothy Unruh, EERE’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power, mentioned:
There is enormous potential for offshore wind in the United States. Through this consortium, DOE seeks to support fundamental research to accelerate the development of affordable offshore wind technologies.