The Departments of Energy, Interior, Commerce, and Transportation today released a report summarizing their progress toward the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot™, an initiative to drive U.S. leadership in design, deployment, and manufacturing.
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
May 16, 2024
minute read time
Nearly $1 Billion Dedicated in Support of Just and Sustainable Deployment of Floating Offshore Wind
The U.S. departments of Energy (DOE), Interior, Commerce, and Transportation today released a report summarizing their progress toward the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot™, an interagency initiative to drive U.S. leadership in design, deployment, and manufacturing. The report shows that, since the initiative's launch in September 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated over $950 million in planning, leasing actions, research, development, demonstration, deployment and more in an effort to realize the full potential of this renewable power source.
"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to unlocking the vast potential of floating offshore wind," said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "It's exciting to see this rapid progress advancing so many initiatives that support job growth, a stronger domestic supply chain, and more equitable, accessible, affordable clean energy across America."
About two-thirds of the country's offshore wind potential is in waters that are deep enough to make floating offshore wind turbines more practical and cost-effective than fixed-bottom turbines. Expanded floating offshore wind deployment would bring the benefits of clean power to millions of Americans, create thousands of jobs, and stimulate domestic manufacturing. The interagency Floating Offshore Wind Shot positions the United States as a leader in floating offshore wind and reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70% by 2035.
The Floating Offshore Wind Shot is part of DOE's Energy Earthshots Initiative™, which drives major innovation breakthroughs in eight clean energy technology sectors critical to decarbonizing the American energy system and solving the climate crisis.
Progress and Priorities Report
The Floating Offshore Wind Shot: Progress and Priorities report documents more than 50 achievements since the Floating Offshore Wind Shot was established. These include:
- The first floating offshore wind lease auction in California and the proposal of ten new lease areas, two in Oregon and eight in the Gulf of Maine.
- A $426.7 million investment from the U.S. Department of Transportation in the first offshore wind terminal on the Pacific Coast.
- Expanded support for innovative, floating turbine designs from DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency.
- Advances in planning for the transmission of power from floating offshore wind projects to West Coast communities.
- Monitoring the presence of bird, bat, and marine mammals in potential energy development areas.
The report also establishes a series of near-term priorities, developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders, that will accelerate progress toward the initiative's overarching goals. These goals include cost reduction through technology innovations, supply chain development, expanded deployment, transmission development, and co-generation opportunities for economywide decarbonization.
FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess Prize Phase Two Winners
DOE also announced the five winners of Phase Two of the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess Prize, a first-of-its-kind competition that incentivizes participants to solve the floating offshore wind industry’s most pressing supply chain challenges. Phase Two winners were selected for their progress in developing plans for mass manufacturing and deployment of their floating offshore wind energy substructure designs. Teams will receive $450,000 cash and $100,000 in vouchers for technical support and move on to the final phase of the prize competition. The winning teams are:
- FloatHOME (Emeryville, California)
- PelaStar (Seattle, Washington)
- Technip Energies (Houston, Texas)
- TETRA TRIPLE-ONE (Boston, Massachusetts)
- WHEEL-US (Coral Gables, Florida).
Offshore Wind Operations & Maintenance Roadmap
Offshore wind infrastructure exists in harsh, isolated ocean environments that present unique challenges for operating and maintaining turbines and systems. Today, DOE released a roadmap assessing current practices and future challenges to the operation and maintenance of U.S. offshore wind farms. The roadmap also features specific recommendations for technology innovations that could help address the industry’s needs.
Upcoming Floating Offshore Wind Investments
Last month, DOE announced its intent to issue a $20 million in funding for projects that improve floating offshore wind systems through refinement and innovation in floating platform design, manufacturing, deployment, and integrated turbine/platform research. The funding opportunity will also offer $3.5 million for the establishment of a floating offshore wind Center of Excellence.
Subscribe to the Wind Energy Technologies Office's Catch the Wind newsletter and learn more about DOE research on floating offshore wind.
Floating Offshore Wind News
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study and Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. West Coast Region. -
Fourteen projects will support durable and environmentally responsible U.S. offshore wind energy and marine energy deployments -
$16. 9 million funding available for offshore wind and marine energy research and development. -
Since its inception in 2014, the Lidar Buoy Program has been instrumental in gathering key data to advance the offshore wind energy industry. -
WETO and the National Science Foundation Award Funding to Accelerate Floating Offshore Wind ResearchJohns Hopkins University and Portland State University received funding from the National Science Foundation and WETO on a project that will help unlock the vast potential of floating offshore wind farms in the United States. -
DOE is collaborating on an 18-month initiative to gather extensive weather, ocean, and wildlife data near the sites of active offshore wind farms and lease areas off the coast of the Northeast United States. -
The funds will be used advance floating offshore wind through port and vessel innovations, transmission technology, and uncrewed underwater vehicles for environmental monitoring. -
The Wind Energy Technologies Office is exploring the relationship between wildlife and wind turbines. -
The Departments of Energy, Interior, Commerce, and Transportation today released a report summarizing their progress toward the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot™, an initiative to drive U.S. leadership in design, deployment, and manufacturing. -
WETO released a roadmap assessing current practices, and future challenges and needs for operating and maintaining U.S. offshore wind farms, as well as specific recommendations for technology innovations that could help address the identified needs and gaps.