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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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DOE OSTI2024

Grid Integration of Offshore Wind Power: Standards, Control, Power Quality and Transmission

Offshore wind is expected to be a major player in the global efforts toward decarbonization, leading to exceptional changes in modern power systems. Understanding the impacts and capabilities of the relatively new and uniquely positioned assets in grids with high integration levels of inverter-based resources, however, is lacking, raising concerns about grid reliability, stability, power quality, and resilience, with the absence of updated grid codes to guide the massive deployment of offshore wind. To help fill the gap, this paper presents an overview of the state-of-the-art technologies of offshore wind power grid integration. First, the paper investigates the most current grid requirements for wind power plant integration, based on a harmonized European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) framework and notable international standards, and it illuminates future directions. The paper discusses the wind turbine and wind power plant control strategies, and new control approaches, such as grid-forming control, are presented in detail. The paper reviews recent research on the ancillary services that offshore wind power plants can potentially provide, which, when harmonized, will not only comply with regulations but also improve the value of the asset. The paper explores topics of wind power plant harmonics, reviewing the latest standards in detail and outlining mitigation methods. The paper also presents stability analysis methods for wind power plants, with discussions centered on validity and computational efficiency. Finally, the paper discusses wind power plant transmission solutions, with a focus on high-voltage direct-current topologies and controls.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comparison of the Gaussian Wind Farm Model with Historical Data of Three Offshore Wind Farms

A recent expert elicitation showed that model validation remains one of the largest barriers for commercial wind farm control deployment. The Gaussian-shaped wake deficit model has grown in popularity in wind farm field experiments, yet its validation for larger farms and throughout annual operation remains limited. This article addresses this scientific gap, providing a model comparison of the Gaussian wind farm model with historical data of three offshore wind farms. The energy ratio is used to quantify the model’s accuracy. We assume a fixed turbulence intensity of $I_∞$ = 6% and a standard deviation on the inflow wind direction of $σ_{wd}$ = 3° in our Gaussian model. First, we demonstrate the non-uniqueness issue of $I_∞$ and $σ_{wd}$, which display a waterbed effect when considering the energy ratios. Second, we show excellent agreement between the Gaussian model and historical data for most wind directions in the Offshore Windpark Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) and Westermost Rough wind farms (36 and 35 wind turbines, respectively) and wind turbines on the outer edges of the Anholt wind farm (110 turbines). Turbines centrally positioned in the Anholt wind farm show larger model discrepancies, likely due to deep-array effects that are not captured in the model. A second source of discrepancy is hypothesized to be inflow heterogeneity. In future work, the Gaussian wind farm model will be adapted to address those weaknesses.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Extreme Wind and Waves in U.S. East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Lease Areas

The Outer Continental Shelf along the U.S. east coast exhibits abundant wind resources and is now a geographic focus for offshore wind deployments. This analysis derives and presents expected extreme wind and wave conditions for the sixteen lease areas that are currently being developed. Using the homogeneous ERA5 reanalysis dataset it is shown that the fifty-year return period wind speed (U50) at 100 m a.s.l. in the lease areas ranges from 29.2 to 39.7 ms -1 . After applying corrections to account for spectral smoothing and averaging period, the associated pseudo-point U50 estimates are 34 to 46 ms -1 . The derived uncertainty in U50 estimates due to different distributional fitting is smaller than the uncertainty associated with under-sampling of the interannual variability in annual maximum wind speeds. It is shown that, in the northern lease areas, annual maximum wind speeds are generally associated with intense extratropical cyclones rather than cyclones of tropical origin. Extreme wave statistics are also presented and indicate that the 50-year return period maximum wave height may substantially exceed 15 m. From this analysis, there is evidence that annual maximum wind speeds and waves frequently derive from the same cyclone source and often occur within a 6 h time interval.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Impacts of Developing a Port Network for Floating Offshore Wind Energy on the West Coast of the United States

Floating offshore wind is a pre-commercial industry with the potential for significant market growth on the U.S. West Coast in the near future; however, significant investment in port infrastructure will be required to enable the industry to progress from demonstration projects to efficient and cost effective commercial deployment. Developing a system of ports that can enable commercial-scale floating wind development on the West Coast of the United States will require significant levels of funding and coordination between governments, industry, ports, and local communities. A critical first step to strategically planning these resources is understanding the number of ports (and associated investment) that would be required to support different phases of offshore wind projects, including manufacturing, installation, and operation. But simply tallying up these costs is not sufficient to understand how a robust network of ports could impact local communities, the environment, workforce development, the offshore wind industry, and the West Coast region as a whole. In this report, the authors present analyses and perspectives related to port development in California, Oregon, and Washington. We describe the requirements for floating offshore wind ports that conduct manufacturing, installation, and/or service activities, and estimate the investment and time frames required to construct these ports at suitable locations in West Coast states. We develop indicators for the vulnerability and workforce accessibility of coastal communities and consider the potential risks and benefits associated with port development in these locations. We model how the proximity of an offshore wind project to installation and operations ports can impact the levelized cost of energy of the project, and then consider how these costs could be affected by local or foreign supply chains. We build upon these analyses to develop scenarios with increasing levels of offshore wind deployment and port assets on the West Coast and show how these ports could enable deployment goals to be achieved. Finally, we draw upon outreach with key floating wind stakeholders to summarize five key challenges that will need to be overcome to develop a comprehensive port network, and present potential approaches that could help to address these obstacles.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scaling the Offshore Wind Industry and Optimizing Turbine Size

NYSERDA's Offshore Wind team is hosting an educational webinar series to connect the public with independent experts in key topics in offshore wind, including wind farm technologies, development practices, regulatory processes, and research initiatives. The presentation focuses on the challenges and opportunities of wind turbine upscaling in the global offshore wind market place. It addresses key concerns about risks of new technology and the opportunity cost of increasing turbine size too rapidly.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Demand for a Domestic Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain

In March of 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration established a National Offshore Wind Target to install 30 GW by 2030. This ambitious goal was not only intended to help reduce dependencies on fossil fuels, but also represents an opportunity to establish a new and sustainable industry in the United States. The announcement referenced the potential benefits of establishing a domestic supply chain, including the opportunity for existing suppliers to produce thousands of components while creating tens of thousands of jobs over the course of the decade. This vision by the Biden-Harris Administration aligns with the perspective of the offshore wind industry. At a Leadership 100 event hosted by the Business Network for Offshore wind in 2019, offshore wind developers and manufacturers identified the need for a roadmap outlining a pathway to a domestic supply chain as the top priority facing the industry. Building up domestic manufacturing capabilities will not only energize local industries but can potentially de-risk individual project by reducing reliance on importing resources from European or Asian markets. Although establishing a domestic supply chain will require significant investment, it has the potential to create substantial benefits throughout the industry and, by extension, on the decarbonization goals of the United States. This study characterizes the challenges and opportunities facing the growth of a domestic supply chain industry and evaluates the potential benefits that could be achieved through the creation of the supply chain. This report is the first of a two-part series which will describe the full supply chain roadmap and the associated benefits; the current report focuses on the high-level deployment, workforce, and component requirements that need to be met to achieve the National Offshore Wind Target. We will present: 1. A deployment pipeline that demonstrates the pathway to 30 GW, the associated demand for major fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind components (turbines, foundations, cables, substations), and the vessel and port requirements to support these installation activities. 2. A series of sensitivity analyses showing how the demand for components, ports, and vessels changes for different technology pathways and availability of the global supply chain. 3. An estimate of the total number of jobs that would be required to support these deployment scenarios under varying levels of assumed domestic content. 4. A comprehensive list of the Tier 1, 2, and 3 components (finished components, subassemblies, and subcomponents) required to construct fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind projects. 5. A discussion of critical path components that represent a significant challenge, bottleneck, or risk for a future domestic supply chain.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wind and Weather Variability within the Californian Offshore Wind Energy Areas

Weather variability over the Northeast Pacific (NEP) region and its influence on wind resources within the Californian offshore wind energy areas (WEAs) at Humboldt and Morro Bay are characterized using 20-years reanalysis model and satellite data. The hub-height (180 m) winds at both locations are predominantly northwesterly driven by the NEP high pressure system, with strong coastal gradients in surface pressure, fluxes, planetary boundary layer (PBL) depths and cloudiness. These sharp coastal gradients and strong annual cycles of temperature and moisture advections pose potential challenges in accurately modeling the local wind resource. Hub-height wind speeds and power capacity factors significantly vary for different regimes of PBL depths, surface fluxes and rain area fractions. This highlights the importance of studying the physical mechanisms driving these weather regimes, hence our analysis of how large-scale NEP weather variability drives the local meteorology at the WEAs. Furthermore, at both WEAs, PBL tops and cloud boundaries intersect the rotor layer (80-280 m) more than 30% and 20% of the time, respectively. While PBL depths significantly modulates hub-height winds and power, cloud boundaries do not have a similar impact, likely due to reanalysis errors in simulating cloud boundaries accurately. These findings underscore the challenges in deploying tall wind turbines in shallow cloudy boundary layers, where the interaction between clouds, precipitation, and atmospheric layers can impact turbine efficiency. As turbines grow taller and are deployed in more complex meteorological conditions, understanding these interactions is crucial for improving wind power forecasting and optimizing energy production in coastal regions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2022 Edition

The 2022 edition of the Offshore Wind Market Report provides offshore wind policymakers, regulators, developers, researchers, engineers, financiers, supply chain participants, and other stakeholders with up-to-date quantitative information about the offshore wind market, technology, and cost trends in the United States and worldwide.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Determinants of Offshore Wind's Role in a Future U.S. Energy System: A Preliminary Modeling Sensitivity Analysis [Slides]

Offshore wind is an emerging industry in the with rapidly changing technology advancements and an accelerating global deployment. Policy demands and interest in the United States has grown, but the long-term future for offshore wind remains uncertain. This study is designed to evaluate offshore wind's potential role in the future U.S. energy system. The analysis uses long-term power system models to assess a wide-range of power system possibilities. Specific objectives of the analysis are to: (1) identify the determinants of offshore wind deployment under different scenarios and (2) understand the impacts of substantial levels of offshore wind deployment on the power system. We also highlight future research needs for more robust understanding the opportunities and challenges to U.S. offshore wind development.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Offshore Wind Technology Data Update (2019) [Slides]

The 2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data Update compiles information from peer-reviewed literature, market reports, press releases, industry news reports, manufacturer specification sheets, and offshore wind project announcements to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the state of the global wind industry in 2019. These data, including capacity projections, project characteristics, technology trends, and cost estimates, are categorized, tabulated, and plotted to provide easily recognizable and understandable summaries. A particular focus is given to the United States offshore wind project pipeline, including project announcements, state procurements, deployment timelines, infrastructure investments, grid interconnections, and other related developments. The update is intended to be used as a reference document by researchers, analysts, industry practitioners, and government officials.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Potential Impact of Offshore Wind Energy on a Future Power System in the U.S. Northeast

This study aims to understand and quantify the potential impact of offshore wind on a future electricity system in the U.S. Northeast. In this analysis, a detailed representation of the Northeast power system is adopted, using a generation portfolio for 2024 paired with offshore wind nameplate capacities of 0 gigawatts (GW), 2 GW, and 7 GW. The analysis identifies points of offshore wind interconnection in the ISO-New England and New York Independent System Operator control areas and uses hourly wind profiles from the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit. Hourly simulations of the 2024 power system operations show an ability to accommodate the prescribed offshore wind capacities by adapting the system's generation dispatch. Curtailment levels of offshore wind range between 4% and 5%. Offshore wind generation displaces primarily natural-gas combined-cycle generation; however, requires increased flexibility from combined cycles through more frequent start-ups. The number of hours with transmission congestion increases because of offshore wind injection, with varying impact on a subregional level. Offshore wind's capacity credit was found to be 14.5%-28.3% and is lower than estimated in other large-scale power system studies, in part because this study considered a different weather year and a power system representation with higher shares of solar PV and onshore wind. The reliability contribution of resources is a topic area identified for more research and collaboration. The 7-GW scenario shows a reduction in locational marginal price of 11%, with production cost savings of up to 18% compared to the 0-GW scenario.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Detecting and characterizing simulated sea breezes over the US northeastern coast with implications for offshore wind energy

Abstract. With the planned construction of vast offshore wind farms along the US East Coast, identifying and understanding key coastal processes, such as sea breezes, has become a critical need for the sustainability and development of US offshore wind energy. In this study, a new two-step identification method is proposed to detect and characterize three types of sea breezes (pure, corkscrew and backdoor) over the US northeastern coast from a year-long WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) simulation. The results suggest that the proposed detection method can identify the three different types of sea breezes in the model simulation. Key sea breeze features, such as the calm zone associated with pure sea breezes and coastal jets associated with corkscrew sea breezes, are evident in the sea breeze composite imagery. In addition, the simulated sea breeze events indicate a seasonal transition from pure to corkscrew sea breeze between March and August as the land–sea thermal contrast increases. Furthermore, the location and extension of the sea breeze front are different for each type of sea breeze, suggesting that the coastal impact of sea breeze varies with sea breeze type. From the wind energy perspective, the power production associated with a 10 MW offshore wind turbine would be approximately 3 to 4 times larger during a corkscrew sea breeze event than the other two types of sea breezes. This highlights the importance of identifying the correct type of sea breeze in numerical weather/wind energy forecasting.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Focal Fisheries Requirements for Floating Offshore Wind Co-Design in the Gulf of Maine and the Mid-Atlantic Bight

Floating offshore wind is an emerging renewable energy technology in U.S. waters and globally. Floating offshore wind technology is more complex than fixed-bottom installations, requiring platforms, moorings, and power cables that take up a larger footprint, both in the water column and along the seafloor. This complexity affects opportunities for compatibility between floating offshore wind and other ocean users, particularly fishermen, whose fishing gear also takes up space in the water column and along the seafloor. This report describes the results of semi-structured interviews with key fishing informants from two focal fisheries: (1) Gulf of Maine lobster (fixed gear) and (2) Mid-Atlantic Bight pelagic longline and recreational tuna (mobile gear). A total of six fishermen were interviewed: four from the Gulf of Maine and two from the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The interviews were designed to elicit information and opinions on the co-design of marine space for particular fishing gear and floating offshore wind infrastructure. Here, we provide an overview of participant fishing experience, the spatial requirements of specific gear types, self-reported comfort levels in different fishing scenarios, and concerns about accessing and operating within floating offshore wind arrays. This summary of fishermen s concerns around floating offshore wind infrastructure can guide future co-existence conversations.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Regional Approach to Offshore Wind Energy Manufacturing in the Central Atlantic: Supply Chain

Growth of the offshore wind industry in the United States is likely to require growth in the nation's manufacturing capacity and additional resources and investments to meet energy project demands. Such growth has the potential to provide positive economic impacts for local communities, workers, and entire states. To realize the benefits of developing a domestic offshore wind supply chain, the states of Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia are working together under the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Resources (SMART-POWER) regional collaboration to advance the industry, with Delaware as a supporting state. This report is part of the SMART-POWER Workforce and Supply Chain Analysis study, funded by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium. The study assesses challenges and opportunities for the four Central Atlantic states to understand key regional strengths and identify supply chain investments that could effectively leverage their resources and provide benefits to both the member states and the offshore wind sector as a whole.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparing Offshore Wind Energy Procurement and Project Revenue Sources Across U.S. States

The pace of offshore wind energy procurement in the United States has rapidly accelerated in recent years. U.S. states along the Atlantic Coast have set procurement goals for offshore wind energy to meet renewable portfolio standards and serve state policy needs. By the end of 2019, projects with a total capacity of 6.4 gigawatts (GW) had established long-term contracts (or equivalent regulatory requirements) with utility off-takers. The prices established in these contracts since 2017 have been well below expectations from many industry observers, prompting stakeholders to compare price levels across U.S. states and globally. However, comparing procurement prices across projects and jurisdictions is often challenging because of differences in project parameters, support regimes, supply chains, and the applicable tax and regulatory environment. These characteristics provide critical context for understanding project revenue streams, delivery obligations, and risk allocation, which need to be accounted for when comparing across different projects. In combination, variation in these characteristics between projects results in measurable differences in project costs and revenues and, consequently, in different offer bids. In this report, we systematically analyze offshore wind energy support regimes across U.S. states. Because offshore wind energy procurement prices from U.S. projects are often compared not only among states but also with European tenders, this report also provides an overview of support regimes and taxonomy used in European offshore wind markets. The content of this report was derived from a literature review, primarily regulatory filings and summary reports, and 16 interviews with leading industry experts from state agencies, energy sector consultancies, and law practices. The comparison between U.S. states focuses on several dimensions, including statutory authority, solicitation procedures, procurement goals and awards, and the structuring of physical and transactional delivery of energy services.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sensitivity analysis of numerical modeling input parameters on floating offshore wind turbine loads in extreme idling conditions

Abstract. Floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) systems are subject to complex environmental loads, with significant potential for damage in extreme storm conditions. Design simulations in these conditions are required to assess the survivability of the device with some level of confidence. Aero-hydro-servo-elastic engineering tools can be used with a reasonable balance of accuracy and computational efficiency. The models require many input parameters to describe the air and water conditions, the system properties, and the load calculations. Each of these parameters has some possible range, due to either statistical uncertainty or variations with time. Variation in the input parameters can have important effects on the uncertainty in the resulting loads, but it is not practical to perform detailed assessments of the impact of this uncertainty for every input parameter. This work demonstrates a method to identify the input parameters that have the most impact on the loads to focus further inspection. The process is done specifically for extreme storm load cases defined in the International Electrotechnical Commission design requirements for floating offshore wind turbines. The analysis was performed using the International Energy Agency Wind 15 MW offshore reference wind turbine atop the University of Maine VolturnUS-S reference platform in two US offshore wind regions, the Gulf of Maine and Humboldt Bay. It was found that the direction of incident waves and current, yaw misalignment, and the length of mooring line sections were among the primary sensitivities.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Noise Reduction Associated with Installation of Fixed-Bottom Foundations: Workshop Report

As offshore wind energy development grows in the United States, solutions are needed to reduce the underwater noise and substrate vibration generated during fixed-bottom turbine installation to help protect marine life. Monopiles are currently the main turbine foundation type installed globally and impact pile driving, the primary installation method, can be a major source of noise and vibration generation during wind farm construction. Opportunities exist to reduce the amount of noise and vibration produced during future offshore wind farm development. The use of alternative foundation types and installation methods, as well as innovative noise abatement technologies, would help reduce the potential detrimental effects on sensitive marine species. To explore these opportunities, the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, funded the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to organize, host, and facilitate a virtual workshop in December 2022. The goal of the workshop was to gather input from the offshore wind energy community on noise reduction strategies for the installation of fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines in U.S. waters across multiple regions, including the U.S. Atlantic Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes to inform recommendations on future research. The joint lab team convened industry representatives, subject matter experts, and regulators to discuss potential pathways to reduce noise and vibration associated with fixed-bottom turbine installation, including the practicality of using alternative foundations and installation methods, the effectiveness of noise abatement technologies, as well as research and monitoring needs. In preparation for the workshop, the team invited experts to be part of a steering committee and worked with its members to help focus activities to meet the workshop goals. Additional pre-workshop activities included developing the invitee list and workshop agenda, reviewing existing Construction and Operations Plans (COP) for proposed offshore wind projects, distributing a brief questionnaire to industry representatives, and drafting the workshop discussion questions and Mural boards. In total, 128 workshop participants provided over 600 comments in response to the 17 group discussion questions used over two workshop sessions. Overarching recommendations highlighted across themes included future investments to provide data sharing, consistency, transparency, and opportunities for sharing best available science, knowledge, and expertise. The joint lab team synthesized the comments and identified four key research and development themes that could help advance the successful implementation of noise and vibration reduction strategies (see report). This report provides an overview of the workshop goals and scope, reviews the pre-workshop activities, presents brief summaries of participant feedback, and concludes with detailed research themes and recommendations for future investments. Appendix A includes the group discussion questions, Appendix B includes the results of the COP review, and Appendix C includes the results of the industry questionnaire. Overall, there was a high level of interest and engagement in the workshop. The sessions provided an opportunity for significant exchange of information between workshop participants from across sectors. Participants identified a variety of opportunities for next steps towards the noise reduction of offshore wind turbine installation in U.S. waters, including recommendations for future investments to provide certainty in the use of new technologies associated with alternative foundation types, noise abatement systems, and efficacy monitoring.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Offshore Wind to Hydrogen - Modeling, Analysis, Testing and International Collaboration Work

This project explores electrolytic hydrogen production from an offshore wind turbine by: Modeling: Simulate an offshore wind turbine and generate power output profiles; Analysis: Analyze offshore conditions and determine operational modes of the stack; Testing: Perform hardware testing to evaluate dynamic characteristics; and International Collaboration Work: Share learnings and publish. Potential Outcomes: Accelerate development of an integrated, in-turbine offshore wind hydrogen system; and Support two DOE Energy Earthshots - Hydrogen and Floating Offshore Wind.

electrolyzer↗