The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) invests in projects to develop the engineering modeling and analysis tools required to lower overall offshore facility costs and to design the next generation of innovative large-scale turbines optimized for installation and operation in the marine environment.

Offshore wind turbines are frequently located far from shore, face greater potential for corrosion from exposure to seawater, are only accessible by helicopter or boat, and therefore must be designed more robustly (i.e., requiring less maintenance) than land-based turbines due to the high costs of transporting maintenance crews and replacement components to and from shore.

The program awarded over $20 million in funding to 19 technology development projects in 2011:

  • Eight projects advanced the current state-of-the-art modeling and analysis tools for the design, performance assessment, system modeling, and cost assessment of offshore wind systems
  • Seven projects developed conceptual designs and assessments of offshore wind plant systems that enhance energy capture, improve performance and reliability, and reduce the cost of energy from integrated wind plant systems
  • Four projects researched and developed innovative rotor and control systems designs for advanced components and integrated systems to reduce capital costs of these systems by up to 50%.

To learn more about these projects, see the WETO Projects Map and use the following filters: Program Area=Offshore Wind; Award Type=Competitive Funding Opportunity; Search=“Technology Development FOA" 

Offshore Wind Map

To learn more about these projects, visit the Projects Map and select Program Area: Offshore Wind.