This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
December 19, 2012
Energy Department Invests in Pioneering U.S. Offshore Wind Projects
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The Energy Department has taken another step toward establishing U.S. offshore wind energy projects in the same way turbines like these harness wind power in Europe.
Credit: Seimens |
The Energy Department on December 12 announced seven awards for offshore wind projects in Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. These engineering, design, and deployment projects will support innovative offshore installations in state and federal waters for commercial operation by 2017.
In the initial phase, each project will receive up to $4 million to complete the engineering, design, and permitting phases of this award. The Department will select up to three of these projects for follow-on phases that focus on siting, construction, and installation and aim to achieve commercial operation by 2017. These projects will receive up to $47 million each over four years, subject to Congressional appropriations.
The seven projects selected for the first phase of this six-year initiative are located on the East and West Coasts, in the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Erie. On the East Coast, Fishermen's Atlantic City Windfarm plans to install up to six direct-drive turbines in state waters three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with expected commercial operation by 2015; Statoil North America of Stamford, Connecticut, plans to deploy four 3-megawatt wind turbines on floating spar buoy structures in the Gulf of Maine off Boothbay Harbor at a water depth of approximately 460 feet; the University of Maine plans to install a pilot floating offshore wind farm with two 6-megawatt direct-drive turbines on concrete semi-submersible foundations near Monhegan Island; and Dominion Virginia Power of Richmond, Virginia, plans to design, develop, and install two 6-megawatt direct-drive turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach.
In the Gulf, Baryonyx Corporation, based in Austin, Texas, plans to install three 6-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines in state waters near Port Isabel, Texas. On the Pacific Coast, Seattle, Washington-based Principle Power plans to install five semi-submersible floating foundations outfitted with 6-megawatt direct-drive offshore wind turbines in deep water 10 to 15 miles from Coos Bay, Oregon. And inland, the Lake Erie Development Corporation, a regional public-private partnership based in Cleveland, Ohio, plans to install nine 3-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines on "ice breaker" monopile foundations. These are designed to reduce ice loading on Lake Erie, seven miles off the coast of Cleveland.
Offshore wind offers more than 4,000 gigawatts of electricity potential in the United States. According to a new report commissioned by the Energy Department, a U.S. offshore wind industry that takes advantage of this abundant domestic resource could support up to 200,000 manufacturing, construction, operation, and supply-chain jobs across the country and drive over $70 billion in annual investments by 2030. See theEnergy Department press release, the Offshore Wind Technology Web page, and theWind Program website.
Obama's energy policy is right. Japan's FiT in July is among the highest in the world. Japan's FiT is shaking the renewable energy market. New solutions will be showed in Japan. This is it!
ReplyDeleteFloating Wind Turbine is one of the best solutions for USA and UK. U.K has more install places around its shores than any other in the world. USA has Atlantic Coast. As you know, Every year Some typhoons arrive Japan. The typhoon has strong wind. Floating Wind Turbines must have constructed to resist typhoons. So they have to reduce vibration to install Floating Wind Turbines on the sea. Because, it makes many kinds of problems! Vibration’s caused by wind, waves and external forces. New Floating Body Stabilizer for Floating Wind Turbines has been created in South Korea. The Floating Body Stabilizers generate drag force immediately when Floating Wind Turbines are being rolled and pitched on the water. Recently, this Floating Body Stabilizers have been used to reduce vibration of Floating Solar Panels in South Korea. You can see New Floating Body Stabilizer videos in YouTube. http://youtu.be/O2oys_YHhCc, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA_xFp5ktbU&feature=youtu.be.