US to create offshore wind ‘centre of excellence’

The US Renewables Market has seen one of the most rapid expansions worldwide in recent years.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) is establishing an $11.9 million 'centre of excellence' to speed up reliable and fair offshore wind energy deployment and produce a well-educated domestic workforce.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst will lead the Academic Centre for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (Arrow).

Arrow will receive $4.75 million over five years from the DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and has also received $4.75 million from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre.

The state of Maryland’s energy administration and the state’s Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University are contributing $1 billion. Other universities are contributing $1.4 million for a total budget of $11.9 million.

Arrow has three key goals:

• Create a comprehensive education system for US-based offshore wind professionals;

• Carry out research on infrastructure, atmospheric and ocean conditions, and marine and human ecology to make offshore wind more resilient;

• Get input from a wide range of offshore wind stakeholders to ensure benefits are shared equitably.