The Wind Program invests in projects to develop the engineering modeling and analysis tools required to lower overall offshore facility costs and to design the next generation of innovative large-scale turbines optimized for installation and operation in the marine environment.
Offshore wind turbines are frequently located far from shore, face greater potential for corrosion from exposure to seawater, are only accessible by helicopter or boat, and therefore must be designed more robustly (i.e., requiring less maintenance) than land-based turbines due to the high costs of transporting maintenance crews and replacement components to and from shore.
The program awarded $26.5 million in funding to 19 technology development projects in 2011:
- Eight projects received $6.7 million to advance the current state-of-the-art modeling and analysis tools for the design, performance assessment, system modeling, and cost assessment of offshore wind systems.
- Seven projects received $3.4 million to develop conceptual designs and assessments of offshore wind plant systems that enhance energy capture, improve performance and reliability, and reduce the cost of energy from integrated wind plant systems.
- Four projects received $15.3 million to research and develop innovative rotor and control systems designs for advanced components and integrated systems to reduce capital costs of these systems by up to 50%.
The projects outlined above are expected to conclude in 2016, and the projects' results and reports will be posted on this page as they become available. Read a report on the program's portfolio of offshore wind technology research, development, and demonstration projects.
