Posted on September 13, 2024
Consortium of Technical Experts Will Support States to Advance Potential Transmission Solutions and Accelerate Wind Deployment
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) opened an initial funding opportunity of up to $1.25 million that will advance offshore wind (OSW) deployment along the Atlantic Coast by identifying opportunities and strategies to standardize transmission development. Managed in collaboration with ConnectWerx, today’s “Standardization for Interregional Offshore Wind Transmission” funding opportunity seeks to identify technical experts, including specialized independent consultants or academic entities, to lead a consortium that identifies standardized OSW transmission equipment specifications to support coordinated procurement in the United States. Since 2021, DOE and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have been collaborating to advance OSW off both the Atlantic and West Coasts in support of meeting the Biden-Harris Administration goals of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of OSW by 2030 and 15 GW of floating OSW by 2035, as well as unlocking a pathway to deploy 110 GW by 2050.
“Offshore wind energy is already powering more than 100,000 homes along the east coast, with the potential to grow, while enhancing grid reliability,” said Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy. “We are working to accelerate offshore wind deployment as quickly and safely as possible. Standardizing transmission equipment used to connect offshore wind projects will give us a huge head start in bringing these systems online faster.”
Offshore wind in the United States can improve the power system’s reliability and resilience, as well as provide economic opportunities and American jobs. From Maine to South Carolina, the Atlantic states are part of a growing number of states with clean energy policies and procurement activities that are driving a total project pipeline exceeding 40 GW of OSW.
Both the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan and the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study highlighted the immense value that coordinated offshore transmission networks can bring to the Atlantic region. Through this funding opportunity, GDO will fund one principal investigator over an initial one-year performance period to assemble and lead a consortium of specialized technical experts that could consist of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), OSW developers, regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs), transmission owners, utilities, and entities with experience in OSW standards and OSW procurements. The primary role of this research consortium is to provide guidance and develop best practices for the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission to promote efficient interconnection of projects that may be constructed by different vendors using equipment from various manufacturers across numerous time zones.
The consortium will develop ideas with the goal of informing near-term and future-state offshore wind solicitation processes. While focused on the Atlantic region, it is expected that this work will benefit the U.S. OSW industry as a whole and may inform future state action across coastal regions.
This program is managed by ConnectWerx in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through an innovative Partnership Intermediary Agreement set up by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions. This agreement enables ConnectWerx to broaden DOE’s engagement with innovative organizations and non-traditional partners, facilitating the rapid development, scaling, and deployment of clean energy solutions.
ConnectWerx will hold an informational webinar on Thursday, September 26 at 2:00 pm ET and office hours on Tuesday, October 8 at 2:00 pm ET. Applications will close on Friday, November 1 at 5:00 pm ET.
Learn more about the Grid Deployment Office.
