The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of three offshore wind demonstrations that will receive up to $47 million each over the next four years to deploy innovative, grid-connected systems in federal and state waters by 2017. These projects, located off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia, will reportedly help speed the deployment of more efficient offshore wind power technologies.

“Offshore wind offers a large, untapped energy resource for the United States that can create thousands of manufacturing, construction and supply chain jobs across the country and drive billions of dollars in local economic investment,” said Ernest Moniz, secretary. “The Energy Department is working with public and private partners to harness this untapped resource in a sustainable and economic manner.”

The three projects selected are reportedly aimed at deploying offshore wind installations in U.S. waters by 2017:

  • Fishermen’s Energy will install five 5-MW direct-drive wind turbines approximately three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, N.J. This project will reportedly use an innovative, U.S.-developed twisted jacket foundation that is simpler and less expensive to manufacture and install than traditional offshore wind foundations.
  • Principle Power will install five 6-MW direct-drive wind turbines approximately 18 miles off the coast of Coos Bay, Ore. The U.S.-developed WindFloat semi-submersible floating foundation will be installed in water more than 1,000 ft deep, demonstrating an innovative solution for deep-water wind turbine projects and lowering costs by simplifying installation and eliminating the need for highly specialized ships.
  • Dominion Virginia Power will install two 6-MW direct-drive wind turbines 26 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, using a U.S.-designed twisted jacket foundation. Dominion’s project is intended to demonstrate installation, operation and maintenance methods for wind turbines located far from shore.

For more information, visit www.energy.gov/eere/wind/offshore-wind-research-and-development.