California floating offshore wind project proposed

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is moving toward the prospect of leasing sites for commercial wind energy development in federal waters offshore California.  According to a March 21 release by BOEM, a January 2016 request by Trident Winds, LLC for a lease will now trigger further steps in BOEM's leasing process.

Trident Winds filed its unsolicited lease request on January 14, 2016.  That request proposed a project to be located about 33 nautical miles northwest of Morro Bay.  The lease area proposed covers almost 68,000 acres in water depths of 2,600‐3,300 feet.  The project would generate up to 800 megawatts of power using about 100 floating foundations, each supporting a turbine that could produce up to 8 MW.  The project could be expanded to generate 1,000 megawatts at a later date, if additional transmission capacity and market off-take can be obtained.

On March 21, 2016, BOEM confirmed that Trident Winds is legally, technically, and financially qualified to hold an offshore wind energy lease in federal waters.

Under the agency's leasing process, its next step will be to publish a notice in the Federal Register to determine if there is competitive interest in the area requested. That Notice will also solicit comments and information on site conditions, commercial, military or other uses of the area and potential impacts of the proposed Trident Winds project.  BOEM expects to issue that Notice this summer.

Based on the information and expressions of interest received during the comment period on the Notice, BOEM will determine whether there is competitive interest in the area. If BOEM determines there is competitive interest, it will initiate its competitive leasing process. If no expressions of interest are received, BOEM will proceed with its noncompetitive leasing process.

So far, BOEM has awarded eleven commercial wind energy leases in federal waters off the Atlantic coast, nine of which were issued as a result of competitive lease sales.

Japan's floating offshore wind turbines

A recently-installed floating wind turbine off the Japanese coast marks the second operating floating project in Asia.  Located about 12 miles off the coast of the site of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power disaster, the government-funded project is being developed by a consortium led by Marubeni Corp.  So far, it consists of a single 2-megawatt Hitachi turbine coupled with a floating substation, with near-term plans to add two 7-megawatt Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. turbines, and a longer-term vision of installing 1,000 megawatts of capacity.

The Fukushima project follows a 2-megawatt floating offshore wind project installed off Nagasaki.  The Nagasaki project is located about 1 kilometer off the island of Kabashima, a 9-sq.-km island with some 110 households, and followed a 100-kilowatt test project deployed in 2012.

Japan's push for offshore wind development is motivated in large part by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  Before 2011, nuclear power provided about 30% of Japan's electricity, but all 54 of Japan's nuclear reactors were shut down or inoperable after the disaster.

As an island nation with extensive coastal resources and little if any native fossil fuels, offshore wind may be a natural fit for Japan.  Relatively deep waters surrounding Japan make seabed-mounted towers impractical, so floating platforms may enable greater use of renewable wind energy.  The floating pilot projects off Nagasaki and Fukushima are designed in part to test different technologies, and may help reduce the costs of future projects.

Under the Japanese approach, each of these projects is funded by a separate ministry: the Fukushima project is supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, while the Nagasaki project is funded chiefly by the Environment Ministry.

Will Japan continue to develop its deepwater offshore wind resources?  Will floating platforms and turbines play a significant role in powering Japanese society?  Will the pilot projects lead to engineering and manufacturing knowledge that could place Japan at the forefront of the growing deepwater offshore wind industry?

Maine launches first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine

The U.S. renewable ocean energy industry achieved a milestone last week with the launch of the nation's first grid-connecting floating offshore wind turbine.  A consortium led by the University of Maine developed and deployed a 1:8-scale prototype in the Gulf of Maine.  What does it mean for ocean energy?

A sailboat catches the wind off the Maine coast.

Offshore wind presents a significant energy resource.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that U.S. waters could host a gross wind power resource of 4,223 gigawatts -- about four times as much generating capacity as the current U.S. electric grid.  If even a fraction of this can be developed in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way, it could power a significant portion of our electricity needs.

While land-based wind projects represent a relatively established technology -- with over 60,000 megawatts installed in the U.S. by the end of 2012 -- and European waters are home to over 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind, no commercial offshore wind projects have been built in the U.S.  The rigors of the ocean environment create engineering challenges for offshore wind, which drives costs up.  Particularly in U.S. waters, the best wind resources are located in deeper waters farther offshore.  This means that floating wind turbines may be the most cost-effective way to harness offshore winds.

While several prototype floating offshore wind systems have been deployed off Europe, no grid-connected projects have been deployed in U.S. waters.  Using $12 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Maine and its project partners have developed the VolturnUS prototype.  This unit has several features that may lead to a breakthrough in the cost curve of floating offshore wind.  While most models to date have relied on steel, the VolturnUS semi-submersible platform uses a concrete foundation and composite tower.  While the prototype is just 65 feet tall, its design characteristics are hoped to lead to lower construction costs for larger-scale units closer to 500 feet tall.

The University of Maine is also planning a larger offshore wind demonstration called Aqua Ventus I.  Using a separate $4 million Energy Department grant, the University is engineering and designing a pilot floating offshore wind farm with two 6-megawatt direct-drive turbines on concrete semi-submersible foundations near Monhegan Island. If selected for further funding in 2014, the Aqua Ventus I project could be constructed and installed in several years.

Maine PUC declines to OK Statoil offshore wind term sheet

Today the Maine Public Utilities Commission declined to approve a term sheet offered by Statoil North America, Inc. for a long-term power purchase agreement from its proposed Hywind Maine floating offshore wind project.

Sutton Island, Maine, about 80 miles downeast of the proposed Hywind Maine project.

In 2010, Maine enacted a law designed to support the development of offshore wind and other marine renewable energy projects.  Among other features, that law required the state Public Utilities Commission to conduct a competitive solicitation for proposals for deep-water offshore wind energy pilot projects, meaning grid-tied floating wind projects at least 10 nautical miles offshore.  The statute gave the commission authority to direct mainland utilities to enter into power purchase agreements with one or more responding developers if certain minimum criteria were met.  This authority was discretionary, meaning the commission could choose not to order the utilities to sign a deal even if it met those criteria.

In September 2010, the commission issued its request for proposals under the program. Over the ensuing years, Statoil emerged as the apparent leading respondent, proposing the "Hywind Maine" project, a four-turbine, twelve megawatt project south of Boothbay Harbor.  Commission staff and Statoil negotiated the terms of a proposed power purchase agreement, which became public this summer.  Among those terms was a proposed energy price of between $290 and $320 per megawatt-hour, escalating annually, for the first 41 gigawatt-hours of energy produced each year.

That term sheet was the subject of deliberations by the Maine commission this morning.  After two hours of discussion, two of the three commissioners had stated that they would vote against approving the term sheet.  They expressed concerns about the cost of the contract, as well as uncertainty over the deal's benefit to Maine and Maine ratepayers.

The Maine commission's action bears some resemblance to that of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission in 2010 when it rejected a proposed contract between utility National Grid and offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind on the grounds that $244 per megawatt-hour was not a "commercially reasonable" price.  The Rhode Island commission ultimately approved a renegotiated deal with Deepwater Wind at a comparable price.  Similarly, the Maine commission invited Statoil to revise its proposal to offer more benefits to Maine, and to present a renegotiated deal for further deliberation.  Will Statoil be able to sweeten its offer and convince the commission that its contract is a good deal for Maine?

Floating offshore wind in US waters?

US coastal waters may soon see the development of floating offshore wind electric generating projects. Being able to install offshore wind turbines on floating platforms, as opposed to towers fixed to the seabed, may enable projects to tap into the vast deepwater ocean energy resource. This would represent a major step in history and technology, and could provide real data on the actual feasibility and costs of offshore wind in the United States.

The Cuckolds Light off Boothbay Harbor, Maine, with Seguin Island Light in the distance.

2012 may bring the deployment of North America's first floating offshore wind project. The DeepCWind Consortium and the University of Maine plan to test a floating wind turbine several miles off the Maine island of Monhegan next summer. The Monhegan project is designed as a pilot project, not a commercial effort. Nevertheless, the lessons learned off Monhegan could be used to shape a larger commercial project in 2013.

Historically, this project could be the first operating US offshore wind development. As 2011 closes, US waters still host neither operating commercial offshore wind projects, nor installed pilot projects of significant size. This is not for lack of interest. Universities and businesses are investing in offshore wind research and development, while developers eagerly pursue commercial projects in nearly all US jurisdictions. Commercial proposals range from projects fully permitted projects but unbuilt, to concepts still in the formation phase.

Technologically, a floating offshore wind project would demonstrate potential solutions to the engineering challenges posed by deep water sites. At least two floating turbines have recently been deployed around the world. The first, Statoil’s 2.3 megawatt Hywind unit, was installed off Norway in 2010. In November 2011, Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal (EDP) teamed up with Principle Power, Inc. to deploy a 2 megawatt turbine on a WindFloat platform off Portugal. The semisubmersible WindFloat design allows the unit to be towed in a horizontal position to the site, then erected without the use of a lift vessel. These test projects demonstrate some of the technologies required for deepwater offshore wind projects. A US project would represent a similar demonstration of new technology.

Floating offshore wind projects appear to have some momentum in Europe, and are poised to make a splash in US waters in the next year. Whether these efforts take hold depends on broader questions of economics and policy as much as on technology. What will 2012 bring?

June 30, 2011 - court lets Monhegan offshore wind site move forward

A court has cleared the waters off the Maine island of Monhegan for the development of an offshore wind pilot project.  Back in December 2009, the Maine Ocean Energy Task Force selected Monhegan and two other sites -- Boon Island and Damariscove Island -- as test sites for offshore wind development.  At the Monhegan site, the DeepCWind Consortium, a group led by the University of Maine, plans to develop a scale-model floating platform and test turbine about 2 miles south of the island.

Connecting islanders to the mainland, the Sea Queen provides mailboat and passenger service to the Cranberry Isles.

Monhegan is a gem of an island.  Situated about 12 nautical miles offshore, the island supports a year-round population of about 75, with summers bringing about 6,000 visitors and summer residents ashore.  Monhegan is not connected to the mainland by electric transmission lines, with most of the electricity on the island coming from a 300 kW diesel generator.  To many,  the combination of community and ocean energy resources makes Monhegan an attractive test site for offshore wind.

The project is not without its opponents, though a court ruling last week has cleared at least one obstacle to project development.  In January 2010, shortly after the Monhegan site was selected, an environmental activist filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Conservation, arguing that the Department had illegally approved the Monhegan site without considering the impact of the project on birds, the environment, and the aesthetics of the project as viewed from the island.  The activist claimed to have legal standing to challenge the approval on grounds including a constitutional right to practice religion through conservation stewardship.  Last week, after reviewing the evidence upon which the Department made its decision -- 359 pages of documents assessing the impacts of the project -- Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm issued an order finding that although the activist did have standing to challenge the Department's action, the Department's decision complied with the law and is valid.

This ruling helps clear the way for the Monhegan project to move forward, but there are still more steps to be taken, including both engineering and regulatory hurdles to pass.  DeepCWind anticipates installing the first one-third scale test platform in 2012.