The US Department of Energy (DOE) is making available $30m to fund research and development projects that will lower costs for wind energy projects on land and offshore to benefit communities across America. “DOE is helping to break down technology barriers to turbo-charge the deployment of this affordable resource all across the country,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
Applications for funding will be considered if they support one of four key initiatives.
Funding of $9.7m will be available for projects that advance technologies needed to transmit large amounts of electricity from offshore wind over long distances.
$6.9m in funding is intended for projects that help coastal communities benefit from offshore wind development through social science research and community engagement.
To support projects that will improve permitting processes to make distributed wind more accessible to communities where distributed wind can be cost-effectively and equitably deployed, $3.3m will be available.
Funding of $8m will support projects that improve technologies that help bats avoid wind turbines as the industry works to minimise impacts to local wildlife and ecosystems.
The DOE also released an RFI on research needs for the anchors and mooring systems that attach floating offshore wind structures to the sea floor in deep water. Information obtained from the RFI will inform future work – with a planned budget of $2.5m – to advance floating offshore wind toward cost-effective commercialisation and domestic manufacturing, including the technologies that keep floating turbines in place at sea.
