Feds reallocate $80m demo funds

Two US offshore wind demonstration projects have been bumped up to receive $40m each in federal funding while another two demos have been dropped from the programme.

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s 21MW Icebreaker freshwater pilot and the University of Maine-led 12MW Aqua Ventus floater (pictured) have been awarded full funding by the Department of Energy.

The projects were designated as alternates in case any of the original three dropped out. The DoE also determined that Fishermen’s Energy’s 24MW Atlantic City proposal will stay in the program.

“The department will continue to support these projects by fully onboarding the University of Maine and Leedco projects into the demonstration program, and through a short-term extension that requires Fishermen’s Energy to secure a power offtake agreement before the end of the calendar year,” a DoE spokesperson told reNEWS.

Dominion Power’s 12MW Virginia demo and Principle Power’s 25MW WindFloat Pacific pilot failed to meet benchmarks and DoE has withdrawn funding.

However the DoE said: “The lessons learned during the development of both projects over the past several years will benefit the burgeoning offshore wind industry moving forward.”

The Fishermen’s, Leedco and UMaine projects “have demonstrated significant progress toward being successfully completed and producing power”, said the DoE.

The trio will receive $13.3m a year over three years for the procurement and construction as long as they continue to meet certain milestones.

Fishermen’s plans to build six 4MW Siemens turbines on twisted jacket foundations in state waters three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Leedco and partner Fred Olsen Renewables USA aim to install six 3.45MW turbines on monobucket foundations seven miles offshore Cleveland in Lake Erie. The latest award is the fourth for LeedCo and brings total federal support to $51m.

Leedco president Lorry Wagner said: “This is truly a transformational event that will make us a manufacturing and technical leader in a new US industry that is ready to surge.”

UMaine plans to deploy two 6MW turbines on concrete semi-submersible foundations at a test site near Monhegan Island.

Dominion meanwhile is “assessing options”. The DoE made its decision after the utility could not guarantee an in-service date for the Virginia project earlier than 2020 because there are too many uncertainties, said Dominion Energy Solutions SVP Mary Doswell.

These include the high cost of the project, the inability to get firm construction contracts and the increasing complexities of gaining regulatory approval for energy infrastructure projects.

“This project is a first in many ways,” Doswell said. “As such, you need to account for many variables when attempting to lock in on a date with any degree of certainty.”

The DoE said all five projects are “breaking new ground at virtually every step in the process, providing valuable technological advances and lessons that will benefit the development of the nation’s offshore wind industry for years to come.”

Image: UMaine