Biden administration targets 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035

The Floating Offshore Wind Shot will be led by the Departments of Energy, Department of Interior, and Departments of Commerce, and Transportation. Together, the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation will also collaborate on research and workforce development in support of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot.

In a statement, the White House said, “Bringing floating offshore wind technology to scale will unlock new opportunities for offshore wind power off the coasts of California and Oregon, in the Gulf of Maine, and beyond. Tapping into these resources will expand clean American energy supplies and contribute significantly to achieving climate goals set by the President and Governors across the country.”

As highlighted by OWJ, the aim of the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize is to optimise floating platform technology and get it ready for domestic manufacturing and commercialisation.

Another initiative, the Floating Offshore Wind Array Design Project, is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and used to develop a set of modelling tools to help industry and researchers design commercial-scale floating offshore winds in US waters, including anchors, mooring lines and subsea power cables.

A West Coast Ports Analysis led by the Department of Energy, also funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be used to address infrastructure challenges, outlining a network of west coast ports and upgrades needed to deploy commercial-scale floating offshore wind.

A West Coast Transmission Analysis, also led by the Department of Energy, will review existing transmission studies and identify research gaps related to offshore wind integration in California, Oregon, and Washington. This work will help inform future analysis efforts that will help transmission planning and buildout.

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will announce US$31M in funding for phase two of the Aerodynamic Turbines, Lighter and Afloat, with Nautical Technologies and Integrated Servo-control (ATLANTIS) programme. This programme focuses on novel forms of systems engineering for floating wind, to drive down costs. This second phase of the ATLANTIS programme will focus on experimental testing in ocean, lake, and tank and tunnel environments to further develop technology for floating wind turbines.

Together, the Department of Energy and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are responsible for an Environmental Research Award with US$1.6M to support coexistence of floating offshore wind with bats on the west coast of the US.

Last but not least, in the Ocean Co-Use and Transmission Research Awards, the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium, a partnership established with funding from Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, five projects totalling US$3.5M will be used to ensure coexistence with marine mammals and fishing and to support offshore wind transmission for fixed-bottom and floating technology.

Responding to the announcement, American Clean Power chief executive Heather Zichal said the announcement by the Biden administration was “a game-changer.”

Ms Zichal said, “These actions will create the project pipeline necessary to spark investment in a new domestic supply chain and allow the US to lead in this emerging technology. Paired with the Inflation Reduction Act, these targets will dramatically reduce costs for offshore wind development, allowing deployment.

“California and Oregon have some of the best wind resources in the world, and floating wind is crucial to harnessing these resources. Innovation in floating wind turbines will make offshore wind more efficient, grow a more robust American supply chain, and bring down the cost of energy for consumers. It will enable offshore wind developers to compete alongside other energy sources at a time when we must use every available clean energy resource to decarbonise our grid and enhance energy security and grid reliability.”

Trade group Offshore Wind California said, “This is great news for California and the nation. California, and the US as a whole, has an opportunity to establish global leadership by going big on floating offshore wind – if we seize the moment.

“The Golden State has already committed to developing floating offshore wind at scale with planning goals of up to 5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045, as approved last month. Now the Biden administration is giving a huge boost to these efforts by setting a national floating offshore wind goal and seeking to bring costs down by more than 70% by 2035.

“California, with its deep west coast waters, is poised to be the first state to put steel in the water at scale for floating wind. But there are also deep waters in Oregon, Washington state, the Gulf of Maine and further offshore in the mid-Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

“Taking the lead on floating wind will mean many gigawatts of clean power, helping to meet our climate goals, and tens of thousands of jobs for California and US workers. Today’s announcement of the federal Floating Offshore Wind Shot initiative promises to spread supply chain jobs across the US and make this clean energy technology even more affordable for electricity ratepayers.”

Riviera Maritime Media will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2022. Sign up to attend on our events page