Energy Secretary
Steven Chu announced $43 million over the next five years to speed technical
innovations, lower costs, and shorten the timeline for deploying offshore wind
energy systems. The 41 projects across 20 states will advance wind turbine design
tools and hardware, improve information about U.S. offshore wind resources, and
accelerate the deployment of offshore wind by reducing market barriers such as
supply chain development, transmission, and infrastructure. The awards will help the U.S. to compete in the global wind
energy manufacturing sector, promote economic development and job creation, and
support the development of an emerging industry that will provide clean
electricity to American families.

Offshore wind energy can provide
access to a vast clean, domestic, renewable resource that can help the United
States meet its critical energy, environmental, and economic challenges and
provide energy to coastal cities where much of the nation’s population and
electricity demand lies.

“The U.S. has an
abundant offshore wind resource that remains untapped,” says Secretary Chu.
“Through these awards, the Department of Energy is developing the critical
technology and knowledge base necessary to responsibly develop this resource,
enhance our energy security, and create new clean energy jobs.”

The selections focus
on technical approaches to advancing offshore technology and approaches to
removing market barriers to responsible offshore wind energy deployment.
Funding is subject to Congressional appropriations.

Nineteen offshore
wind technology development projects will receive $26.5 million to address technical challenges and provide the
foundation for a cost-competitive offshore wind industry in the United States.
Awardees, in collaboration with industry, will develop the engineering modeling
and analysis tools required to lower overall offshore facility costs and to
design the next generation of innovative large-scale turbines optimized for
installation and operation in the marine environment. These projects include
research and development for innovations in key
components such as floating support structures and turbine rotor and control
subsystems that may lead to capital cost reductions of up to 50%.

Twenty-two market
barrier removal projects will receive $16.5 million to research factors limiting the
deployment of offshore wind in the nation’s coastal and Great
Lakes regions. Topic areas include project design factors such as
environmental impact assessment and characterization of the offshore wind
resource; subjects related to investment and infrastructure development such as
categorization of financial risks and long term manufacturing needs and port
requirements; and technical offshore wind interface topics such as transmission
grid integration, and assessment of potential impact on offshore navigation and
communication systems.

U.S. Department of Energy’s
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, www.eere.energy.gov