The Floating Offshore Wind Shot is an initiative to help usher in a clean energy future by driving U.S. leadership in floating offshore wind design, development, and manufacturing. It is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots Initiative to tackle key remaining technical challenges to reaching U.S. climate goals while creating jobs and economic opportunities for U.S. communities.
Floating offshore wind is key to transitioning dense population centers to clean energy, and would also mean thousands of jobs in wind manufacturing, installation, and operations.
The Floating Offshore Wind Energy Shot seeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by at least 70%, to $45 per megawatt-hour by 2035 for deep sites far from shore.
About two-thirds of U.S. offshore wind energy potential exists over waters too deep for today’s fixed-bottom wind turbine foundations secured directly to the sea floor, and instead require floating platforms. These structures will be among the largest humankind has ever constructed. Achieving the Floating Offshore Wind Shot goals will require an all-out effort to develop a robust domestic supply chain, reduce technology costs, and plan and build out needed transmission.
Goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Energy Earthshot
Learn more about DOE’s plan to advance floating offshore wind energy:
DOE and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted a webinar on their ambitious initiatives to position the U.S. to lead the world on floating offshore wind design, development, manufacturing, and deployment. Download the slides from this webinar.
