Dominion declared that it has got a grant of $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for a two year project to bring down the cost of offshore wind power production by 25%.
According to Mary C. Doswell, Alternative Energy Solutions’ senior vice president, one of the toughest challenges encountered by offshore wind power production is the cost of investment and the project is intended to attain 25% cost reduction by making improvements in electrical infrastructure, foundation and working of the turbine for a most optimal combination.
For the purpose of completing the project, Dominion is associating with National Renewable Energy Laboratory of DOE, Arlington, VA, located Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute, ALSTOM power, a global supplier of equipment and services for wind turbine engineering and production, and Moffatt & Nichol, an engineering company focused in marine terminals, harbors, ports, ocean engineering and structural design.
The team led by Dominion will practice an all inclusive type of system approach for improving a theoretical design of a 600 MW offshore wind power generation project placed in a range of suggested locations on the U.S. Atlantic coastline covering Massachusetts to South Carolina and on the Outer Continental Shelf of Virginia having support structure and foundation fit for the erection of offshore turbines in water depths from 10 to 60 m range.
The company is also researching the aspects of constructing a high-voltage underwater transmission line from Virginia Beach to the prospective commercial lease location in the Atlantic Ocean. The company is planning to complete the study assessing various options to find out the best one to assist in the growth of the offshore wind projects away from the coast of Virginia.
Source: http://www.dom.com/