The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reportedly announced its proposal to raise up to $28.1 million in funding for the advancement of wind energy throughout the nation, including the offshore, land-based and distributed wind sectors.
As per trusted sources, utility-scale wind energy in the United States has expanded to about 90 GW (gigawatts) and in addition, there are significant prospects for cost reduction, specifically in the areas including distributed wind, offshore wind and tall wind.
Rick Perry, US Secretary of Energy, was quoted saying that wind power happens to be an integral segment of the energy strategy of America. Costs can be trimmed down through research & development and demonstration of new wind technologies, which will expand the accomplishment the land-based, utility-scale wind sector has made till date, to the advancing offshore wind as well as distributed wind sectors, Rick added.
According to a report by The Department of Energy, the latest funding opportunity includes several areas of interest such as the WIRED (Wind Innovations for Rural Economic Development), which will expectedly raise about $6.1 million and will bolster the rural electric utilities & communities by developing distributed wind and facilitating distributed energy project development using technical assistance.
It has been reported that the Energy Department plans to upgrade the federal-level facilities for offshore wind research & development, which would require around $7 million. Reports added that the project development for the innovative offshore wind technology demonstrations would need around $10 million in funds. This is anticipated to cut down on the risks and costs of offshore wind energy at the planned offshore wind plants in the US which will be operational by 2025. Tall Towers for the US wind power is likely to require up to $5 million, under which the taller wind turbines will enable higher wind speeds and improve energy capture.
Allegedly, the concept papers for the current funding opportunity are slated to be ready by April 25, while the full application is expected by June 15.