Rendering of PelaStar floating tension-leg turbine platform. Photograph: The Glosten Associates A public-private group expects the US Energy Department (DOE) to decide soon on whether to provide funding to support its proposal for a pilot wind project in the Pacific Ocean off California that will demonstrate floating tension-leg turbine platform technology, Recharge learns.
The consortium is led by defense contractor SAIC and includes the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories , wind developer Force 5, other companies and Glosten Associates , designer of the PelaStar floating platform.
It is on DOE?s short list of applicants, according to Charles Nordstrom, a senior naval architect at Glosten and lead engineer for Pelastar.
DOE in March unveiled a six-year, $180m research initiative to support deployment of breakthrough offshore wind technologies that have potential for lowering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) below 10 cents/kWh. LCOE is the so-called ?local hurdle? price at which DOE believes the sector can compete with other regional generation sources without subsidies.
An initial $20m will be made available this fiscal year which began 1 October for the federal government. DOE funding can be used to cover up to 80% of a project?s design costs, and 50% of hardware and installation costs.
?We are hoping to make an announcement soon,? says Liz Hartman, a spokesperson for DOE?s Wind and Water Power division. She did not name the other short-listed groups.
Nordstrom says the California project would involve two 5MW-to-7MW wind turbines mounted on PelaStar platforms located in 80-meters of water off the coast near Lompoc. Installation would occur in 2015. No decision has been made if the site will be in a state or federal area of the outer continental shelf.
?California is a great place to get this kick-started,? says Nordstrom, who says state officials are enthusiastic about the consortium?s project proposal.
Unlike the US Atlantic coast where the outer continental shelf gradually tapers for hundreds of kilometres toward the deeper ocean, water depths close to shore in the Pacific limit opportunities for use of fixed-bottom turbine substructures.
The PelaStar concept is a floating, permanently-moored structure that integrates mature marine technologies including tension-leg platforms, chain mooring systems and high-vertical load anchors used in the offshore energy industry. As the tension-led concept is vertically constrained, its heave, roll and pitch motion are minimal, according to Nordstrom.
Turbines lose efficiency and can develop operating problems when away from a vertical axis.
Experts say while the use of floating turbine platforms will initially add a high level of technical risk, in the long-term they could yield substantial cost and efficiency benefits given more robust wind resource over deeper waters.
NREL experts note that floaters offer greater opportunities for mass production and the potential for full-system assembly dockside.
Richard A. KesslerPublished: Wednesday, November 28 2012 | Last updated: Thursday, November 29 2012
Source: http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article328329.ece?WT.mc_id=rechargenews_rss
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