The University of Delaware plans to take the lead in an effort to bring offshore windpower to the United States.
The Special Initiative on Offshore Wind will operate from the UD College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.
The intiative comes after offshore wind took a beating in recent years from a sluggish economy, a lack of financing mechanisms, a surge in natural gas production, and critics in Congress and elsewhere who claim it is too expensive. The Bluewater Wind project, off the Delaware coast, is on hold after encountering many obstacles.
“As a research university, it is our role to be the nexus for partnerships among private sectors, NGOs (non government organizations) and government. We are able to serve economic development that joins cutting-edge science and technology with a commitment to clean energy and industry support,” said Charles Riordan, vice provost for research at UD, during the announcement at Offshore Wind Power USA. “We see the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind as being a neutral party that can bring all of the interested parties to the table, while having the in-house expertise to provide a sound basis for discussion.”
The program, described as independent, objective and non-commercial, is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Its goal is to advance the U.S. offshore wind industry, drawing together critical information on cutting-edge technologies, financing and collaboration opportunities.
UD has been active in windpower. In 2010 UD and Gamesa Technology Corporation joined forces to install a utility-scale 2-megawatt coastal wind turbine at the university’s Sharp Campus in Lewes, Del., allowing the company to test the turbine in a coastal environment and students to conduct training and research on an industrial-scale turbine.
Research from UD and other universities has indicated that a system of offshore wind farms off the coast could supply much of the power for the region. The ups and downs of wind production could be balanced out over a large area.
This new initiative is separate from, yet complements, existing and long-standing UD efforts on offshore wind power housed in the Center for Carbon-free Power Integration., according to a release.
The initiative will connect states with international experts, especially in Europe where more than 2,000 wind turbines are now installed and grid connected in eleven countries.
“Offshore wind is the most powerful potential carbon-reducing energy source for East Coast states,” said the project’s creator, Stephanie McClellan. “Wide deployment of offshore wind in the U.S. can revitalize coastal industry and ports, reduce pollution and creates tens of thousands of jobs — as it has done in northern Europe and the United Kingdom.”
McClellan joined UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment in January to direct this project. She recently worked for the Google-financed Atlantic Wind Connection, which seeks to build a Mid-Atlantic offshore energy transmission system.
The initiative already is playing a key role in major projects to harness East Coast and Great Lakes wind resources.
For offshore wind to be deployed in the U.S., utilities must buy electricity from offshore wind projects, with state support for offshore wind contracts. While the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind will not facilitate contracts or state approval, it will provide powerful new data to policymakers about the benefits and urgency of tapping offshore wind, according to a release.
“2014 will be a defining year in efforts to launch the offshore wind industry in the U.S. and this initiative will be an important component of the work to highlight to policy makers and members of the public the industry’s benefits,” said Chris Long, offshore wind manager for the American Wind Energy Association. “We are very excited about this initiative and look forward to working closely with Stephanie and her team.”
