The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Danish Innovation Fund have announced plans to launch a $4.2 million funding opportunity aimed at boosting the development of floating wind energy offshore wind energy systems.
A strategic approach to obtain “floating wind energy”.
This announcement is based on a memorandum of understanding signed in 2021 between DOE, the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities and the Danish Innovation Fund.
The primary focus of this funding opportunity will be on research to improve mooring technologies and methods, which are essential for securing floating platforms to the seabed.
As a joint initiative between the United States and Denmark, this effort seeks to promote the global offshore floating wind energy industry by fostering bilateral collaboration to amplify the impact of research and development in both countries.
Development and investment for future sustainability projects
WETO and the Danish Innovation Fund are contributing approximately $2 million each. The teams conducting the projects must include both U.S. and Danish entities collaborating on each awarded project, and should involve significant effort on both sides.
In addition, U.S. applicants must include minority-serving institutions and may involve other U.S. participants.
The U.S. DOE and the Danish Innovation Fund expect to solicit proposals that address the following five topic areas:
- Compatibility strategies for moorings, cabling and coexistence: Develop methods to reduce the impact of cables and mooring lines on other ocean users and the environment, and to advance opportunities for positive impacts.
- Mass-produced high-reliability moorings: Enable mass production of mooring components at the scale required to supply offshore floating wind energy arrays of at least 500 MW installed capacity.
- Novel position-keeping systems and components: Research the development, demonstration, or commercialization of technology to prevent failures, decrease costs, improve performance, or increase the capacity of offshore floating wind energy mooring systems.
- Mooring monitoring and inspection technologies: Develop sensor systems, remote inspection methods, maintenance strategies, and data collection and processing approaches that can better assess the health and reliability of subsea components for commercial-scale offshore floating offshore wind energy arrays.
- Open topic: Research and development that more broadly supports mooring systems for industrial-scale deployment of floating offshore wind energy. This includes, but is not limited to, identifying best practices for holistic design and optimization of floating wind energy systems, and how to co-optimize turbines, platform, moorings and systems
Four or more awards are expected to be made after the official launch of the funding call scheduled for spring 2024.
Crucial step in floating wind energy innovation
The collaboration between the United States and Denmark in the development of advanced technologies for offshore floating wind energy highlights the importance of innovation and international cooperation in the fight against climate change.
By focusing on improving mooring technologies and other critical aspects of floating wind energy systems, this initiative not only promises to advance the efficiency and viability of these technologies, but also to reduce their environmental impact and improve their coexistence with other uses of the sea. This joint effort reflects a shared commitment to lead the way towards a more sustainable and resilient energy future, demonstrating how cross-border collaboration can overcome technical and environmental challenges to harness the unlimited potential of renewable energy.
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Source: marinetechnologynews.com
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