USOWC Resources

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U.S. Offshore Wind Energy: A Path Forward

In 2009 the U.S. Offshore Wind Collaborative (USOWC) published U.S. Offshore Wind Energy: A Path Forward. This document serves as a resource for government, industry, and non-governmental stakeholders by offering a snapshot of U.S. offshore wind energy activity in 2009.

A Framework for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the United States

The Framework identifies the technical, environmental, economic, and regulatory needs required for the responsible development of US offshore wind energy potential, as well as strategies for addressing them. Click here for a PDF.

USOWC Pilot Projects

Before official incorporation of the USOWC, an informal Steering Committee (for what at the time was called simply the Offshore Wind Collaborative) initiated work in key known areas of interest. Funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, General Electric, and the U.S. Department of Energy, this group completed a set of pilot projects, as well as A Framework for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the United States. The Massachsuetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Massachusetts (UMass), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) worked cooperatively to develop six pre-proposals which: 1) emphasized joint work among the institutions, and 2) demonstrated the scope of perspective of the USOWC in addressing important environmental and public policy concerns in context with engineering considerations.

The final reports of the pilot projects are available below:

Geotechnical Considerations for Offshore Wind Turbines
Zachary J. Westgate and Jason T. DeJong
August 1, 2005

This report focuses primarily on the site condition assessment and
foundation modeling, design, and to a lesser extent, the installation aspects required for successful development of an offshore wind farm.

Economic and Environmental Performance of Potential
Northeast Offshore Wind Energy Resources
Michael Berlinski and Stephen Connors
Analysis Group for Regional Energy Alternatives
Laboratory for Energy and the Environment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
December 31, 2005

This project focused on gathering and assessing offshore wind resource
information along the Northeastern United States coast, and evaluating the
potential economic and environmental performance of these resources.

This project addresses fundamental economic and environmental issues related to
the costs and benefits of deep-water offshore wind for New England. It identifies
key performance thresholds including cost, and quantifies the variability of the
offshore wind regime. It also highlights areas for further research needed to
refine and extend these and other performance metrics.

Offshore Wind Farm Layout Optimization (OWFLO) Project: Preliminary Results
Christopher N. Elkinton, James F. Manwell, and Jon G. McGowan
University of Massachusetts Amherst

The objective of the project is to pinpoint the major economic hurdles present for
offshore wind farm developers by creating an analysis tool that unites offshore turbine micrositing criteria with efficient optimization algorithms. This tool will then be used to evaluate the effects of factors such as distance from shore and water depth on the economic feasibility of offshore wind energy.

Wind Turbine Underwater Noise and Marine Mammals: Implications of Current Knowledge and Data Needs
P. T. Madsen, M. Wahlberg, J. Tougaard, K. Lucke, andP. Tyack

This paper reviews the existing literature and assesses zones of impact from different noise-generating activities in conjunction with wind farms on representative shallow-water species of marine mammals.

Legal And Regulatory Framework for Siting Offshore Wind Energy Facilities
P. Hoagland, M.E. Schumacher, H.L. Kite-Powell, and J.A. Duff

This study is designed to help clarify national and local decisions about the siting of wind
power generating facilities in the US coastal ocean.

USOWC Submission to DOE

Click here to see comments submitted by USOWC in response to the DOE Request for Information regarding Research and Development priorities.

USOWC Convening of the States

On September 9, 2008, the USOWC convened a meeting of coastal and Great Lakes states actively involved or interested in offshore wind energy planning and development. This meeting occurred during the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA's) Offshore Wind Workshop in Wilmington Delaware. A summary of the event is available here.

Past USOWC Presentations

(Coming soon)

Frequently Asked Questions About the USOWC

(In the process of being updated.)

External Resources

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Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE)

In April 2009 MMS (now BOEMRE) released the Final Renewable Energy Framework which defined "regulations to establish a program to grant leases, easements, and rights-of way (ROW) for renewable energy project activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), as well as certain previously unauthorized activities that involve the alternate use of existing facilities located on the OCS; and to establish the methods for sharing revenues generated by this program with nearby coastal States. These regulations will also ensure the orderly, safe, and environmentally responsible development of renewable energy sources on the OCS."

Supporting Resources:

Cape Wind

In April 2010 Secretary Salazar (Department of the Interior) announced a favorable Record of Decision for Cape Wind. This decision was the culmination of a permitting process that lasted for nearly a decade. As of August 2010, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is considering the 15 year proposed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between National Grid and Cape Wind. For more detailed information please see the following documents:

Cape Wind Fact Sheet
Project Map
National Grid PPA filing with the Massachusetts DPU
Record of Decision
Environmental Assessment
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

Proceedings of DOE Wind Workshops

The final proceedings from DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program (WHTP) 20% Wind Energy by 2030 Workshop and the Wind Manufacturing Workshop are now available. The DOE sought additional input on these proceedings from the public through a Request for Information (RFI) due in April 2009. Almost 80 comments were received from various entities including developers, investors, state and federal agencies, manufacturers, suppliers, electric utilities, environmentalists, academics, and non-profit organizations.

Offshore Renewable Energy: A Regulatory Primer

The National Sea Grant Law Center has released Offshore Renewable Energy: A Regulatory Primer. The document provides basic information on regulatory authorities with respect to offshore wind, wave, tidal, and ocean thermal energy conversion projects. It also briefly discusses state authority, local concerns, and an emerging alternative management framework - marine spatial planning. Its brevity and straight-forward explanations should help Sea Grant extension agents, communicators, local decision-makers and anyone else struggling to understand the complex regulatory framework.

Resources From the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative Second Annual Meeting

The Second Annual Meeting of the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative, called Change is in the Wind, took place June 10-11, 2009 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Many of the presentations that remain online (through the link above) are valuable information resources.

Reports

American Wind Energy Association:

Wind Energy for a New Era
Developed for the President Obama and Congress, Wind Energy for a New Era presents the wind energy industry's federal policy agenda. The link above provides the full document; a shorter overview is available here.

British Wind Energy Association: