This is an excerpt from the Second Quarter 2011 edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.

The winds of change are blowing for renewable energy policy, and some of the strongest gusts are coming from offshore. The Great Lakes and coastal waters of the United States have a vast wind energy resource, but there wasn't an official federal blueprint for developing this potential until recently. On February 11, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released A National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Energy Industry in the United States. This document represents a commitment by the two agencies to promote and accelerate the responsible deployment of commercial offshore wind power in U.S. waters, a major step in harnessing the nation's offshore wind potential.

Generating electricity from offshore wind yields multiple benefits for the nation. Offshore wind power can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing electricity generated from fossil fuels. It can diversify the U.S. energy supply and provide cost-competitive electricity to key coastal regions that currently rely on expensive fossil fuels. It can stimulate the nation's clean energy economy by investing in infrastructure and creating skilled jobs manufacturing, installing, and maintaining offshore wind facilities. However, the path to offshore wind presents numerous challenges. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the following key obstacles:

  • There are no wind turbines installed in U.S. waters. This creates a shortage of critical data on the environmental and siting effects of turbines, as well as on the installation, operations, and maintenance costs of these turbines. This lack of information in turn drives up the costs of financing offshore wind projects.
  • The cost of offshore wind energy must decrease relative to conventional energy sources in order to compete in wholesale electricity markets.
  • Technical challenges related to facility installation and grid interconnection must be overcome, and site data and familiarity with permitting processes are needed to reduce timelines for deploying projects.

The National Offshore Wind Strategy, prepared by the Wind and Water Power Program in the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, outlines the actions DOE will pursue to support the development of a world-class offshore wind industry in the United States. The Strategy describes DOE's efforts to overcome the challenges facing offshore wind deployment in order to achieve its benefits. DOE will guide a national effort to achieve a scenario of 54 gigawatts (GW) of deployed offshore wind generating capacity by 2030, at a cost of energy of $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). To achieve this scenario, DOE must accomplish two critical objectives: decrease the technical and financial risks of offshore wind energy so that it is cost-competitive with conventional energy sources, and reduce the timeline for deploying offshore wind projects.

Under this strategy, DOE will create an Offshore Wind Innovation and Demonstration (OSWInD) initiative to undertake seven major research and development activities: innovative turbines; marine systems engineering; computational tools and test data; resource planning; siting and permitting; complementary infrastructure; and advanced technology demonstration projects. DOE is currently engaged in several ongoing offshore wind activities and has invested $90 million in offshore wind research and test facilities since Fiscal Year 2009.

In February 2011, DOE released three solicitations, representing a total of $50.5 million, for additional offshore wind research and development projects. Close collaboration among key federal and state agencies and other stakeholders will be crucial to the success of the OSWInD initiative. The Strategy leverages DOE's partnership with the Department of the Interior, which is the federal agency with the primary jurisdiction over reviewing and approving offshore wind projects in federal waters.

During the past two years, the Department of the Interior has developed a regulatory framework to review proposed offshore wind projects in federal waters. It also launched the "Smart from the Start" initiative to facilitate siting, leasing, and construction of new projects in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Elements of the Smart from the Start initiative are included in the new framework, ensuring a timely yet environmentally sound process.