The US Department of Energy (DOE) identified three projects from its offshore wind portfolio—the Atlantic City Windfarm developed by Fishermen's Energy, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation's Icebreaker project, and the University of Maine's New England Aqua Ventus I project—that have demonstrated significant progress toward being successfully completed and producing power.
These three projects are each eligible for up to US$ 40 million in additional funding in future project performance periods after reaching specific milestones, subject to congressional appropriations and progress reviews.
Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey plans to install six 4MW Siemens turbines in state waters approximately three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Windfarm will demonstrate the use of a twisted jacket foundation that is easier to manufacture and install than traditional foundations.
Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation's (LEEDCo) plans to install six 3.45MW direct-drive turbines on Mono Bucket foundations seven miles off the coast of Cleveland in Lake Erie. The Mono Bucket foundation was selected through significant engineering analysis, and is expected to reduce installation time, costs, and environmental impacts compared to traditional foundations that require pile driving.
The University of Maine plans to install a pilot floating offshore wind farm with two 6MW direct-drive turbines on concrete semi-submersible foundations at a test site off of Monhegan Island, Maine. Because of its location in deep waters off the coast of Maine, where traditional foundations are not feasible, the University of Maine is developing a floating platform. The University of Maine has demonstrated a 1:8-scale prototype of their floating VolturnUS foundation, and they have applied the knowledge gained in designing, constructing and deploying the prototype to the engineering efforts of the full-scale design.