Three US offshore wind demonstration projects have received more time to qualify for ongoing federal funding.
Fishermen’s Energy’s 24MW Atlantic City scheme, Dominion Power’s 12MW Virginia demo and Principle Power’s 25MW WindFloat Pacific pilot now have until May 2016 to meet certain milestones.
None of the projects had secured a power offtake deal by the initial July 2015 deadline.
The three were awarded $47m each in 2014, to be doled out over four years.
Fishermen’s seeks to re-apply for offshore renewable energy credits after swapping in Siemens turbines instead of XEMC machines.
Dominion is trying to cut the cost of its two-turbine test project after deciding the unexpectedly high $400m estimate is too steep to pass on to ratepayers.
Principle Power and Deepwater Wind continue trying to secure a power purchase agreement for a two- to three-turbine floater off Oregon.
The Energy Department has also awarded additional grants of $3.7m to two alternate projects, bringing their total awards to $6.7m, the same amount received thus far by the three finalists.
The University of Maine-led 12MW Aqua Ventus floater and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s 18MW Icebreaker freshwater demo could win full funding if any of the original three drop out.
UMaine professor and project lead Habib Dagher said: “We are pleased that the Department of Energy decided to award the University of Maine an additional $3.7m to put the New England Aqua Ventus 1 demonstration project on financial par with the other offshore wind demonstration projects.”
“The additional funding will help us complete all aspects of the project planning, negotiate supply contracts with industrial partners, and approach financial close for the project.”
LeedCo’s award will focus on overcoming remaining barriers to the project’s successful development based on a third-party evaluation that is expected by the end of April 2016.
The latest investment will position LeedCo “to construct the wind farm in the waters of Lake Erie in the summer of 2018,” said LeedCo president Lorry Wagner.
The DoE is expected to decide which of the five projects to advance on 31 May 2016.
Image: Deepwater Wind is developing the Block Island wind farm (Deepwater Wind)
