Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced that four Virginia businesses have been selected for awards totalling US$ 860,000 for research having a total value of more than US$ 3 million to accelerate the development of offshore wind power and its associated industry supply chain.
Alstom Power offered US$ 10,000 in contributed cost share and was selected for a US$ 40,000 award to develop advanced controls that adjust ocean wind turbines to respond in real time to incoming waves, reducing wear and tear on the rotor and generator. CoastalObsTechServices offered US$ 310,000 in cost share contributions and was selected for a $260,000 award to perform a 12-month wave measurement project and wave forecast modelling and validation to help mitigate the risk of construction delays and service vessel inaccessibility. Timmons Group offered to contribute US$ 345,000 in cost share and was selected for a US$ 250,000 award to develop a proof of concept for a commercial wide-area metocean and environmental monitoring program. Finally Dominion Virginia Power offered US$ 2 million in cost share contribution and was selected for a US$ 310,000 award to advance geotechnical studies, including deep borings, which are essential to early project engineering analysis and currently lacking on the Outer Continental Shelf in the vicinity of the Virginia Wind Energy Area.