The NOWRDC supports research to accelerate the U.S. offshore wind energy industry. Now, with 40 offshore wind R&D awards issued—totaling $28.3 million across 25 states—the organization is driving critical innovation in U.S. offshore wind.
Wind Energy Technologies Office
October 13, 2021
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With 40 offshore wind R&D awards issued so far, the NOWRDC is driving critical innovation in the U.S. offshore wind energy industry
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC), established in 2018 as a nonprofit public-private partnership, focuses on advancing offshore wind technology in the United States through high-impact research projects and cost-effective, responsible development to maximize economic benefits. The NOWRDC supports research to accelerate the U.S. offshore wind energy industry.
To date, NOWRDC has issued 40 R&D awards, totaling $28.3 million across 25 states. These projects generally focus on three research pillars that aim to guide technical solutions to barriers in the U.S. offshore wind energy industry:
- Offshore wind technology advancement
- Offshore wind power resource and physical site characterization
- Installation, operation and maintenance (O&M), and supply chain.
NOWRDC projects span a wide range of offshore wind energy topic areas. Figure from NOWRDC
All 40 projects will be spotlighted at NOWRDC’s upcoming Technical R&D Symposium—taking place virtually November 8–10, 2021. Each day of the symposium will feature a theme, project presentations, and keynote speakers. Building on the success of last year’s Technical R&D Symposium, the upcoming 2021 event will provide updates on exciting technical innovations and discoveries made under NOWRDC projects. The symposium will also provide a forum for collaborative, insightful discussion among leaders in the U.S. offshore wind industry.
NOWRDC also intends to bolster its project portfolio through a new solicitation. The first round was released late this summer relating to offshore wind supply, logistics, and O&M; and one subsequent round will occur in spring 2022. Solicitations may draw from NOWRDC’s Roadmap 3.0—the overarching technical guidance document for offshore wind R&D topics. This document was updated in June 2021 to account for already-achieved research objectives and to incorporate new research priorities and objectives—including research priorities central to the Biden administration’s goals for offshore wind.
“The consortium is making significant and critical industry-guided and prioritized investments to reduce costs and risks within the U.S. offshore wind industry and is a key part of meeting the Biden administration’s offshore wind deployment goals,” said Nate McKenzie, technology manager for offshore wind R&D at WETO.
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) is dedicated to managing industry-focused R&D of U.S. offshore wind energy. Photo courtesy of Principle Power. Artist: DOCK90
Current funding for the consortium comes from DOE and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, each providing $20.5 million; the commonwealths of Virginia and Massachusetts; and the states of Maryland and Maine—for a total investment of approximately $48 million. In addition, the NOWRDC benefits from the dedicated engagement of its industry-spanning membership—comprising offshore wind energy developers, offshore wind equipment manufacturers, and independent entities. As a result of its diverse membership, NOWRDC can build strong networks connecting technology innovators, investors, and industry.
You can register for the NOWRDC’s National Offshore Wind R&D Symposium 2021, taking place in November.
If you have questions or are interested in collaborating with the NOWRDC, please reach out to Carrie Cullen Hitt at [email protected].
Fall 2021 R&D Newsletter
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As wind turbines and plant sizes grow, is there a point at which costs plateau? Researchers analyze the avg cost per megawatt to develop and maintain offshore wind plants—and how these could change if trends toward larger turbines and plants continue. -
SEER, the U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research, is designed to shed light on the environmental effects of offshore wind development, identify existing gaps in information, and prioritize future environmental research efforts. -
Various energy industry stakeholders are calling for interconnection queue reform. While many projects that apply for interconnection are never built, data from these queues nonetheless provide a glimpse of the types of projects under development. -
Weather models have difficulty forecasting the cold, near-ground temperatures in cold pools, resulting in subtle errors that have a big impact on the magnitude and timing of wind power predictions. A new method can cut wind speed errors by as much as 20%. -
The National Rotor Testbed is an open platform for testing new wind turbine technologies and collaborating among national laboratories to validate advanced computational models for wind turbines. The platform now includes wake control research. -
Distributed wind energy systems have unique characteristics, such as likely threats, geography, stakeholders, risk tolerance, and mitigations. A multilaboratory research team is using resilience metrics to evaluate the benefits of distributed wind. -
Offshore wind research buoys are equipped with instruments that can take wind speed measurements as high as 250 meters—the height of today’s wind turbines. Results will help wind power plant operators make investment and siting decisions. -
The Fall 2021 edition of R&D News highlights efforts by DOE national laboratories and industry partners that are helping the United States reach the Biden administration’s 30-GW-by-2030 national offshore wind deployment goal.
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