US DOE to Issue Offshore Wind R&D Consortium Funding Call

The US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to issue a funding opportunity announcement entitled “U.S. Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium” in December 2017.

Through this proposed funding opportunity, DOE plans to support the creation of a consortium that will conduct US-specific offshore wind research and development (R&D) that addresses topics such as wind plant technology advancement; wind resource and physical site characterization; installation, operations, and maintenance; and supply chain technology solutions—all aimed at reducing the cost of offshore wind in the United States.

The funding opportunity announcement will be issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office.

For this four-year initiative, EERE plans to make a single USD 18.5 million award with additional USD 2 million to be allocated directly from DOE to DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers to carry out R&D activities prioritized by the consortium.

DOE also plans to select an administrator for this cooperative, public-private consortium through the funding opportunity announcement.