The Emerging U.S. Offshore Wind Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World
within the next two to three years. The 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 project in Massachusetts was initially scheduled to commence last year until federal regulators determined they needed more time to analyze environmental impacts before they would issue the necessary permit. Recently, the Department of Energy’s Bureau of Ocean Management has indicated it will issue its findings by December 2020, setting that project back at least a couple of years from their initial projections. Since the new analysis will require a consideration of the potential “cumulative” environmental impact
DISCOVER Ocean Observing Prizes Awarded
Eleven winners were announced in the first “DISCOVER” stage of NOAA and the U.S. Department of Energy's Powering the Blue Economy: Ocean Observing Prize, a competition designed to spur technology innovation, allow for easier and cheaper data collection across the 80% of the world’s oceans that remain unexplored, and contribute to the growth of the blue economy.“The United States can harness science and technological advances to increase our understanding and effective management of the ocean environment at a level of detail and geographic scale never before possible,”
Ocean Energy: A Surge Coming in 2020
water through an increase of cross-border R&D projects supported by the European Commission.These developments are documented in the OES 2019 Annual Report, which also reveals significant public and private sector investment earmarked for 2020. Marquee projects include $25m pledged by the US Department of Energy to support 12 ‘next-generation’ marine energy pilots and Wave Energy Scotland committing £7.7 million to two wave energy machines using the Stage Gate selection process. The European Commission is further investing in a broad set of initiatives and deployments.OES is expecting
OES: Surge in Tidal Energy in 2020
The last annual report issued by Ocean Energy Systems (OES) highlights significant international investment including $25m pledged by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to support 12 ‘next-generation’ marine energy projects and Wave Energy Scotland committing $9.9 million in two wave energy machines next year.“In the last 12 months we have seen major progress with global tidal projects achieving extensive operating hours and wave technology progressing in large-scale laboratory and offshore test sites,” said OES chairman Henry Jeffrey from the University of Edinburgh. “A
DOE Prizes to to Inspire Ocean Innovation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced developments in two new prizes: Waves to Water, which challenges innovators to desalinate water using the power of ocean waves, and the Powering the Blue Economy™ Ocean Observing Prize, a joint DOE-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prize, which challenges innovators to pair marine renewable energy technologies with ocean observing platforms.These announcements were made at a White House multi-agency public-private partnership summit that was focused on accelerating science, technology, and research in the oceans.“Innovat
OceanObs’19: Innovation Expanding Ocean Observations
recently completed Ocean Discovery prize is an ocean related example that was discussed but a new prize aimed at “avatars” offered an intriguing idea that ocean scientists might find more immersive ways to explore the ocean. Concluding the plenary was a special announcement from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They announced their new Powering the Blue Economy: Ocean Observing Prize, which will provide an opportunity for innovators to develop marine energy technologies at a scale that is more attainable than utility-scale power. It
DNV GL Launches Renewables Certification Ops in U.S.
, DNV GL has established a Renewables Certification office in Medford, Mass., to meet the growing demands for certification services. While the U.S. is still a generation behind Europe in the exploitation of offshore wind energy resources, it could catch up quickly, as, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), there is the potential to install 22,000 MW of offshore wind projects in the U.S. by 2030. Much of this activity is taking place in the Northeast, with Massachusetts and New York setting aggressive targets and leading the way.The DNV GL U.S. operations will be managed by David Maloney
Atlantic Offshore Wind: Favorable Winds for Maritime
should be issued to specialists serving aboard OSW support vessels. (This will be addressed in the next issue of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. )The current end of the PTC is also discouraging to developers who have to finance their own projects—albeit with some state support. The Department of Energy loan guarantee program and port infrastructure grants are other finance options. ConclusionsOffshore wind is coming to the United States and a maritime community near you, accompanied by good jobs and clean renewable energy. Join the bandwagon and support these exciting new farms just
New Tech for Wind Blade Inspections
Drones and crawling robots outfitted with special scanning technology could help wind blades stay in service longer, which may help lower the cost of wind energy at a time when blades are getting bigger, pricier and harder to transport, Sandia National Laboratories researchers say.As part of the Department of Energy’s Blade Reliability Collaborative work, funded by the Wind Energy Technologies Office, Sandia researchers partnered with energy businesses to develop machines that noninvasively inspect wind blades for hidden damage while being faster and more detailed than traditional inspections with
