Researchers seek to bring down costs, address potential environmental risks and maximize the benefits of harnessing wind energy above the deep waters of the Pacific.
The nation is closer to its offshore wind energy goals than ever before, but better wind forecasting is still needed. To address this challenge, PNNL and collaborators are charting a new course with help from novel technology.
Floating offshore wind farms could potentially triple the Pacific Northwest's wind power capacity while offsetting billions of dollars in costs for utilities, ratepayers, insurance companies, and others.
Two renewable energy approaches—enhanced geothermal systems and floating offshore wind energy—get new focus as Energy Earthshot™ Research Centers at PNNL.
PNNL is supporting the floating offshore wind industry to enable gigawatt-scale development of floating offshore wind in the United States while minimizing environmental impacts and supporting local workforces.
A research buoy managed by PNNL has been deployed in Hawai’ian waters, collecting oceanographic and meteorological measurements off the coast of O’ahu.
A multi-institutional team of wind energy experts led by PNNL assessed the scientific grand challenges for offshore wind and provided recommendations for closing gaps in models.
Recognizing how innovation and clean technologies at the very edge of the grid can work together to transition the electricity system, PNNL takes a multidisciplinary approach to advancing and integrating renewable energy solutions.
Two PNNL studies that describe the potential value of offshore wind off the Oregon Coast and distributed wind in Alaska were published in the journal Energies.
PNNL has received 119 R&D 100 Awards since 1969, when the laboratory began submitting entries in the contest that recognizes top 100 inventions each year.
PNNL has paired one of its offshore wind research buoys with its ThermalTracker-3D technology to correlate avian activity with ocean and weather conditions off the California coast.
A special issue of the Marine Technology Society Journal, titled “Utilizing Offshore Resources for Renewable Energy Development,” focuses on research and development efforts including those at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
PNNL researchers say that offshore wind energy can add value to the electric grid, beyond just the power it can produce, if locations and strategies are optimized.
