The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium in the US is providing $7m funding for its first solicitation for offshore wind technology projects.
The consortium is seeking proposals that lead to major reductions in the lifetime average cost of offshore wind energy, while at the same time overcoming domestic market challenges.
Each proposal is required to address one of the following technical challenge areas: wind turbine array performance and control optimisation; cost-reducing turbine support structures; floating mooring concepts for shallow and deep waters; and power system design and innovation.
The solicitation was in response to a call in the consortium’s ‘Research and Development Roadmap’, which was developed in response to industry-led feedback.
Additional challenge areas will be addressed in future solicitations and regularly revised to incorporate market dynamics, the consortium said.
They may include offshore wind power resource and physical site characterisation and installation, operations and maintenance and the supply chain.
Consortium board chairman and chairman of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center Robert Catell said: “This initial solicitation is an important step in moving ahead with the technical improvements that are going to be necessary to reduce the long term cost of offshore wind and ensure it will be an important component of meeting our long term energy goals.”
The consortium is led by a board of directors that includes offshore wind industry leaders from around the world, states, US representatives of national utilities and national laboratories.
Other members include New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Avangrid Renewables, EDF Renewable Energy, EDP Renewables, Equinor, Innogy, Northland Power, Orsted and Shell.
NYSERDA president and chief executive Alicia Barton said: “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 US as a whole.”