DOE, DOI Release Strategic Plan to Accelerate Offshore Wind in the U.S.
A strategic plan to accelerate development of offshore wind energy, released by the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Interior (DOI) on Monday, focuses on overcoming the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; the technical challenges surrounding installation, operation, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes.
The joint National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States is the first-ever interagency plan concerning offshore wind energy. The departments also named several high-priority "wind energy areas" in the Mid-Atlantic that will spur rapid, responsible development of wind energy, they say.
The initiatives are part of the DOI’s "Smart from the Start" program, announced in November 2010 and designed to speed up appropriate commercial-scale wind energy development. The plan includes deployment of 10 GW of offshore wind generating capacity by 2020 and 54 GW by 2030.
In support of the plan, the DOE is releasing three solicitations, representing up to $50.5 million over five years, to develop breakthrough offshore wind energy technology and to reduce specific market barriers to its deployment. First, the DOE said it would support the development of innovative wind turbine design tools and hardware to provide the foundation for a cost-competitive U.S. offshore wind industry. The DOE will also support baseline studies and targeted environmental research to characterize key industry sectors and factors limiting the deployment of offshore wind. Finally, the development and refinement of next-generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains will be funded.
For the funding opportunities (FOA) posted on Grants.gov, see the technology development and design FOA due on June 17, the removing market barriers FOA due June 10, and the turbine drivetrain FOA due on April 1.
The DOI also identified four wind energy areas offshore the Mid-Atlantic states. The areas on the Outer Continental Shelf—offshore Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia—will receive early environmental reviews that will help to shorten the time required for review.
In March, the DOI expects to identify wind energy areas off the North Atlantic states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and launch additional environmental reviews for those areas. A similar process will occur for the South Atlantic region—namely, North Carolina—this spring. The DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will prepare regional environmental assessments for wind energy areas to evaluate the effects of leasing and site assessment activities on leased areas, and BOEMRE could offer leases in these Mid-Atlantic areas as early as the end of 2011 or early 2012.
Sources: DOE, DOI, POWERnews