U.S. Increase Government Support to Reduce Offshore Wind Power Costs

Following the earlier goal of U.S. President Barack Obama to establish 80% of the electricity supply from clean energy and renewable energy sources by 2035, the U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Minister of Energy Zhu Yuwen announced that the government will contribute 50.5 million U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar supports offshore wind power technology research and development to reduce the cost of offshore wind power generation.

The goal of the strategy is to have 10 million kilowatts of offshore power capacity by 2020, and the energy cost will be reduced from 20 cents per kilowatt-hour to 10 cents, roughly equal to the retail price of U.S. electricity. **We believe that this move by the United States will eventually challenge the position of the world’s leading offshore wind power hub in the UK.

Unique offshore wind conditions The United States Department of the Interior has repeatedly stated that offshore offshore wind turbines can provide enough electricity to meet current U.S. electricity needs. Relatively shallow waters on the coast are the most easily erected and technically feasible sites for wind turbines. Salazar said that using only these wind turbines could meet at least 20% of the electricity needs of most states in the United States. Salazar announced a report completed by the Mineral Resources Administration of the Ministry of the Interior detailing the potential for the development of oil, natural gas and renewable energy on the continental shelf outside the United States.

The United States has the largest wind potential on the Atlantic coast. According to the report, it is estimated that it can generate 1 billion kilowatts of electricity, enough to meet one-quarter of the U.S. electricity demand. The report also pointed out that although there is great potential for wind power generation on the Pacific coast including the California coast, wind turbines may face increasingly severe challenges in deeper waters.

According to forecasts, the potential of offshore wind power in the United States is as high as 4 million megawatts. However, according to the analysis, this is only a theoretical figure. If all the constraints are taken into account, including economic feasibility and wind conditions, the large-scale commercial offshore wind power generation capacity in the United States is roughly 127 million kilowatts.

The development objective of offshore wind power in the United States first locked the shallows and then developed into deep water, mainly using wind turbines with a stand-alone capacity of 5 MW or more. According to reports, the goal established by the United States is that by 2012, the electricity price for Class 4 shoals will be 5 cents/kWh. At present, the United States is studying deepwater technology. As technology advances, the cost will also be well controlled to ensure the healthy development of offshore wind power.

U.S. media believe that during the period of high oil prices, Republican representatives have been shouting for the development of oil, making the issue of offshore energy particularly pressing. Critics also accused Obama and Salazar of deliberately delaying new oil and gas drilling. Proponents of oil drilling said that the latest estimates of offshore energy could find greater offshore oil potential. Salazar said that offshore wind power is the protagonist of the future. He promised to formulate guidelines and regulations for the development of offshore wind power as soon as possible to complete the work that the United States failed to complete during the Bush administration.

Pushing Offshore Wind Power Strategy The US Department of Energy and the Ministry of the Interior have recently released the first inter-agency cooperation plan on offshore wind power in the history of the United States. The report is entitled “National Offshore Wind Power Strategy: Creating a US Offshore Wind Power Industry”. The plan focuses on solving three major issues: the relatively high cost of offshore wind power, technical challenges in installation, operation, and grid integration, and the lack of experience in field data and project approval processes.

Zhu Xiwen said that the plan will stimulate innovation, increase employment, develop clean energy, and help the United States win a stronger competitive edge in the new century. The US government’s commitment to the $50.5 million investment plan includes the following three aspects:

Technology development (25 million U.S. dollars within five years): Support for the development of innovative wind turbine design tools and hardware. Specifically, it will include the development of open source computing tools, systematic optimization of offshore wind farm concepts, and the development of coupled turbine rotors and control systems for optimizing the next generation of offshore wind systems.

Eliminating market barriers ($18 million within three years): Support basic research and targeted environmental studies on key industry sectors and factors that limit the deployment of offshore wind power. Specifically, it will include offshore wind power market and economic analysis, environmental risk reduction, manufacturing and supply chain development, transmission planning and grid-connected strategies, and optimal infrastructure and operations.

Next-Generation Drivetrain ($7.5 Million in 3 Years): Funding the development and improvement of the next-generation blower drive system, a core technology needed for cost-effective offshore wind power.

In addition, four wind energy areas located in the Mid-Atlantic were identified. The four wind energy regions are located off the continental shelf of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Under the national offshore wind power strategy, the US Department of Energy plans to have offshore wind capacity of 10 million kilowatts by 2020 and 54 million kilowatts by 2030. The effective use of offshore wind energy will help the United States achieve Obama’s goal of "80% of the nation's electricity will come from renewable sources by 2035."

Excessive Costs Constrain Development The United States’ Virginia State Offshore Wind Development Bureau recently released a survey report that the cost of offshore wind power in the United States is currently high. The report cited the data of the US Department of Energy that the current total cost of generating electricity for offshore wind power in the United States is US$243 per 1,000 kWh, while the same amount of electricity is generated, and the cost of onshore wind power is only US$97.

Not only that, but also the cost of offshore wind power is much higher than other forms of power generation. According to the report, the cost per 1000 kilowatt hours of electricity, solar photovoltaic power generation system is 211 US dollars, gas turbine power generation is 125 US dollars, nuclear power is 114 US dollars, biomass energy power generation is 113 US dollars, coal-fired power generation is 109 US dollars, combined cycle turbine power generation Only 66 dollars.

“Offshore wind power is a technically viable power generation model. All we need to do now is to reduce costs.” Gay Chapman, director of renewable energy projects at Dominic Energy, an American energy company, said that as Europe is also actively developing Renewable energy power, and the development of new wind farms in deeper seas, the cost of global offshore wind projects is gradually increasing, which in turn increases the cost of offshore wind projects in the United States.

However, the report of the Virginia State Offshore Wind Development Bureau also stated that with the gradual development of the offshore wind power industry in the United States, the cost reduction is also possible. For a new industry, offshore wind power must experience a relatively long period of development. U.S. industry analysts believe that the future development of offshore wind power industry will depend on the support of government policies to a large extent.

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