US DOE launches $16.4 million funding call for offshore wind and marine energy research

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued a funding call for research projects that will reduce risk and improve environmental compatibility of marine energy and offshore wind deployments in the United States.

The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports accelerated and responsible development of offshore renewable energy by funding research to reduce risk and improve environmental compatibility of deployments in all regions of U.S. waters including the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico.

This includes research into the integrity and monitoring of mooring lines for floating offshore wind energy systems and marine energy converters, as well as reducing or avoiding noise generation and propagation during the installation of fixed-bottom offshore wind foundations.

The FOA includes two topic areas. The first is related to reliable moorings for floating offshore wind and marine energy systems, and will support six to eight projects with the total funding of $6.4 million.

The second topic covers noise reduction for fixed-bottom offshore wind installations. Here,  $10 million of designated funding will be shared between three to eight supported projects.

The FOA has been issued on September 29, 2023, with the deadline for concept papers set for November 9, and the deadline for full applications for February 29, 2024.

The supported projects will be unveiled in summer 2024, the U.S. DOE noted.

Projects awarded under this funding opportunity will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.

This funding program also supports the administration’s goals to deploy 30GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use, and to deploy 15GW of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.

The FOA has been issued on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), and the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

Management of the awards will also be in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service. 

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