Developer Wants Floating Turbines for Largest West Coast Offshore Wind Project

April 15, 2022 by Dan McCue
Developer Wants Floating Turbines for Largest West Coast Offshore Wind Project

SEATTLE — Trident Winds, a Seattle-based wind energy developer, has asked federal regulators to approve its plan to develop the largest offshore wind farm on the West Coast, and to allow it to use floating turbines to bring it to pass.

The company outlined its proposal in an unsolicited request for a commercial renewable energy lease filed with the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management on Tuesday.

The project, which the developer has christened “Olympic Wind,” would be located about 40 miles off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington, with construction beginning in 2028.

If approved by the Bureau and other federal agencies, the project would provide up to 2,000 MW of wind energy, enough to power approximately 800,000 homes.

But it is the company’s proposal to use floating wind turbines that is its most intriguing aspect by far.

Currently, the few offshore turbines erected in U.S. waters have been “fixed-bottom” turbines, built upon massive pillars or bases.

However, that method of anchoring wind turbines would be ineffective along the Pacific coast where the continental shelf is riddled with steep drop-offs and other topographical irregularities.

Trident Winds’ proposal calls for tethering floating platforms to the ocean floor.

“The Olympic Wind Project is poised to be the first floating, commercial scale offshore wind installation off the coast of Washington State,’ company CEO Alla Weinstein said in a written statement.

“The project will harness our unlimited, carbon-free offshore wind resources for the benefit of all Washingtonians,” she said.

Weinstein is Gov. Jay Inslee’s energy appointee on the Washington State Coastal Marine Advisory Council. She is also a U.S. Department of Energy appointed ambassador for the U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Initiative.

With the request filed, it’s now up to the Bureau to conduct an initial review to determine whether the company and its proposal meets the agency’s technical, financial and other requirements.

The Biden administration has set a goal of deploying roughly 30,000 MW of offshore wind energy by the year 2030, and plans to make about $3 billion in federal loans available to offshore wind project developers to help meet that goal.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue.

 

A+
a-
  • Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management
  • offshore wind
  • Washington State
  • wind energy
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Renewable Energy

    March 27, 2024
    by TWN Staff
    Rep. Cleaver New Co-Chair of House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus. He was invited to serve as co-chair by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the co-chairs of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy... Read More

    March 26, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Biden Administration Approves Seventh Offshore Wind Project

    WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the construction of the Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm, a project off... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the construction of the Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm, a project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, that proponents say will eventually power 320,000 homes. The project is the seventh commercial-scale wind farm to be approved under... Read More

    March 26, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Sen. Blumenthal Lauds Expansion of Tax Credit for Offshore Wind Projects

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and... Read More

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and celebrate the Biden administration’s decision to expand eligibility of federal tax credits for offshore wind projects. “This tax credit has been a long time in coming,”... Read More

    China to Challenge Biden's Electric Vehicle Plans at the WTO

    BEIJING (AP) — China filed a World Trade Organization complaint against the U.S. on Tuesday over what it says are... Read More

    BEIJING (AP) — China filed a World Trade Organization complaint against the U.S. on Tuesday over what it says are discriminatory requirements for electric vehicles subsidies. Starting this year, U.S. car buyers are not eligible for tax credits of $3,750 to $7,500 if critical minerals or other battery... Read More

    Here Are the Big Hurdles to the Global Push to Build Up Renewable Energy

    The world's governments have agreed they want to triple renewable energy by 2030, a goal laid out at the U.N.... Read More

    The world's governments have agreed they want to triple renewable energy by 2030, a goal laid out at the U.N. climate summit in December. But right now, the post-pandemic global economy is throwing up obstacles that will need to be overcome if the goal is going... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Energy Department Awards $6B to Decarbonization Projects

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded $6 billion to 33 projects across more than 20 states... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded $6 billion to 33 projects across more than 20 states to decarbonize energy-intensive industries while creating jobs and revitalizing the communities in which they are located. Funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act,... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top