The US Departments of Energy (DOE), Interior, Commerce, and Transportation have released a report summarising their progress towards the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot, an interagency initiative.
The report shows that, since the initiative's launch in September 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated over $950 million to planning, leasing actions, research, development, demonstration, deployment, and more, in an effort to realise the full potential of this renewable power source.
About two-thirds of the country's offshore wind potential is in waters deep enough to make floating offshore wind turbines more practical and cost-effective than fixed-bottom turbines. 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 US 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 birds, bats, 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 towards 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 decarbonisation. The interagency aims to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70% by 2035.
