Funding Notice: $10.6 Million for Floating Offshore Wind Innovations

The National Offshore Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) announced its Solicitation 4.0, a $10.6 million opportunity focused on driving innovation in floating offshore wind technology. NOWRDC’s Solicitation 4.0 aims to address near-term challenges in the U.S. offshore wind sector with high-impact projects targeting technological, environmental, and cost barriers to accelerate the deployment of floating offshore wind. This opportunity is jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, the California Energy Commission, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 

Projects focused on the following three Topic Areas can help install floating offshore wind turbines faster and more affordably, enhance the delivery of electricity to consumers, and improve environmental monitoring and infrastructure support. Collectively, successful projects will contribute to the United States’ wind energy and broader climate goals, including the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot to drive U.S. leadership in floating offshore wind design, development, and manufacturing. 

Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Innovations in Ports and Vessels to Support Floating Offshore Wind Installation 
This topic area aims to innovate vessels and port infrastructure for floating offshore wind development. Projects should focus on new, adaptable port and vessel ideas to speed up assembly and deployment, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and work with different designs. Proposed innovations include modular port work areas for manufacturing and maintenance and developing or upgrading vessels to support wind system fabrication and installation. The actual design of wind turbine platforms is not included. 

Topic Area 2: Floating Offshore Wind Transmission Technology Advancement 
This topic area aims to reduce risks in transmission development and accelerate transmission technology for floating offshore wind markets. Proposed innovations include designing and testing new solutions for stabilizing floating substations, such as active control systems devices, and developing HVDC dynamic power cables, including new methods for connecting these cables to floating platforms and static export cables. 

Topic Area 3: Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles for Environmental Monitoring around Floating Offshore Wind Infrastructure 
This topic area focuses on creating new uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) for floating offshore wind development on the U.S. West Coast, which can be used by floating offshore wind project developers to speed up permitting or improve wind infrastructure. Innovations should gather environmental data and reduce impacts on NOAA Fisheries surveys. Proposed ideas include stabilizing floating substation platforms with new control systems and mooring devices and developing HVDC dynamic power cables with new connection methods for floating platforms and export cables. 

Get Your Questions Answered 

An informational webinar will be held on September 10, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar to get your questions about NOWRDC's call for innovative floating offshore wind projects answered. 

To learn more about this opportunity today, visit the NOWRDC website. 

Discover other open funding opportunities within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

Key Dates

 
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) is a nationally focused, independent, not-for-profit consortium of offshore wind federal, state, academic, and private sector stakeholders. NOWRDC is dedicated to managing industry-prioritized offshore wind research and development to maximize economic benefits for the United States.