The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (the Consortium) has selected 12 projects for contract negotiation, completing its first solicitation for offshore wind research and development technology projects.
The 12 awards totaling $10.3 million will support a variety of research areas, including comprehensive U.S. supply chain analyses, studying the impacts of offshore wind on the electric grid system and innovations in anchoring structures.
“The Consortium is excited to advance offshore wind deployment in the U.S. by supporting these innovation and research projects,” says Carrie Cullen Hitt, executive director of the Consortium.
“This recent announcement builds on our collective commitment to drive down costs and make offshore wind more a competitive alternative in generating energy,” adds Hitt.
The Consortium’s efforts were realized through a competitive solicitation that closed in December 2019.
The awarded projects include:
- Demonstration of Shallow-Water Mooring Components for FOWTs (ShallowFloat), Principle Power Inc.
- Design and Certification of Taut-synthetic Moorings for Floating Wind Turbines, University of Maine
- Dual-Functional Tuned Inerter Damper for Enhanced Semi-Sub Offshore Wind Turbine, Virginia Tech University
- Innovative Anchoring System for Floating Offshore Wind, Triton Systems Inc.
- Techno-Economic Mooring Configuration and Design for Floating Offshore Wind, University of Massachusetts Amherst
In addition to these projects, eight projects previously received funding from the Consortium last year, bringing the total projects funded to over $17.3 million.
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium was established in 2018 when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) was awarded $18.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
As the first federally-funded public-private partnership focused on advancing offshore wind technology in the U.S., the Consortium, as a not-for-profit organization, supports the cost-effective and responsible development of offshore wind to maximize the economic benefit to the country. Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland also contribute to the Consortium’s funding. NYSERDA administered the initial solicitation on behalf of the Consortium.
The full listing of the projects that have been funded by the Consortium is available here.
Original source: North American Wind Power