The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking input on research needs related to floating offshore wind energy mooring and anchoring systems. For this, DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) has issued a Request for Information (RFI).
Apart from input on research priorities, DOE is seeking information on state-of-the-art innovative technologies, state-of-the-practice common operations, and aspirational targets to help meet deployment goals, DOE said.
DOE further said that mooring and anchoring topics of interest include technologies, methods, performance, costs, supply chain, U.S. manufacturing, workforce, and stakeholder impacts.
This RFI is intended to inform WETO’s strategic planning, including future research funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aimed at advancing floating offshore wind energy systems toward cost-effective commercialization and industry scale-up.
The Biden-Harris administration on Tuesday today announced its intent to use $30 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund research and development projects that will lower costs for wind energy projects on land and offshore to benefit communities across the country. Wind energy accounted for more than 9% of total domestic electricity generation in 2021 and will play a significant role in achieving President Biden’s goals to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050, DOE said.
"Floating offshore wind energy will be a key contributor to federal and state offshore wind deployment targets and to supplying clean energy to coastal cities. DOE’s Floating Offshore Wind Shot seeks to harness untapped renewable energy potential above the sea, promote an equitable clean energy transition, and create jobs and economic opportunities for U.S. communities," the DOE said.
Worth noting, the Biden administration said on Tuesday that it would, on December 6, hold the first-ever offshore wind lease sale off the coast of California, which will be the first-ever offshore wind lease sale on the U.S. west coast and the first-ever U.S. sale to support potential commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development.
The administration said the sale would be critical to achieving the Biden-Harris administration's deployment goals of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.