Technology Assessment & Development

The Ocean Energy Task Force (OETF) recommends that Maine establish a goal to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind energy by 2030; improve the siting, governance, and permitting framework for renewable ocean energy development; promote and support financing and development of renewable ocean energy projects and related businesses; improve and align energy transmission infrastructure and state energy policy to attain the offshore wind goals; and, streamline state permitting of appropriately-sited offshore wind energy. development

The report provides a scaling model for estimating the cost of wind turbine components and subsystems for different sizes and configurations.

Overview of test specifications and facility specifications at the Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) designed to help the wind industry deploy the next generation of land-based and offshore wind turbine technologies.

The report describes offshore wind research results in areas of feasibility-level design and economic assessment, preliminary mapping offshore areas, and evaluation of economic development potential. It offers recommendations for applied research and government policy.

The report describes the current status of wind generation technology and forecasting, with particular focus on how these elements relate to the interconnection with the regional transmission network and the operation of the bulk power system.

The report reviews the applicability and adequacy of standards and practices for the design, fabrication, and installation of offshore wind turbines, as well as the role and requirements of third-party certified verification agents (CVAs). The focus is limited to the safety of structural and operational characteristics of offshore wind turbines.

The study examined a variety of factors - including technological, environmental, regulatory, and economic considerations - associated with potential sites off the coast of Georgia. The study identified Jekyll Island and Tybee Island as two locations with the best potential. Of the two locations, Tybee Island was deemed to be better suited because of reduced visual disturbance, improved wind resources, and closer proximity to industrial and maintenance resources.

The report estimates the technical potential (280,000 GWh/year and 70,000 MW capacity) and constrained potential (13,000 GWh/year and 3,300 MW capacity) of South Carolina's offshore wind energy.

The report describes how offshore wind facility and cable installation may affect scour susceptibility of the seabed.

The report found that substantial areas of at least 506 federal lease blocks have a wind-capacity factor of commercially attractive
(>30 percent) to outstanding (>40 percent) in which no serious conflicts with wildlife, existing human uses, or natural factors that would inhibit successful installment of wind turbines have been identified. These could accomodate as much as 50,000 MW of nameplate capacity, generating a yearly average of 20,000 MW of power.