Energy Department’s new place to explore offshore-wind technology
The Energy Department (DOE) has established a center of excellence for accelerating offshore wind energy. DOE describes it as an academic and training hub helping the goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. For more on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke to program analyst Laura Hastings and University of Massachusetts civil engineering professor Sanjay Arwade.
Laura Hastings This project came together because in our federal government’s fiscal years ’22 and ’23, Congress directed us the Wind Energy Technologies Office to fund, and I’m quoting here, Congress. Centers of Excellence focused on offshore wind energy engineering, infrastructure, supply chain, transmission and other pertinent issues required to support offshore wind in the United States. So centers of excellence are hubs of subject matter expertise within a specific focus area that do research, provide insight and develop best practices and innovative solutions. So in March 2023, we put out a funding opportunity notice, and after a thorough process, announced the award earlier this month.
Eric White And Sanjay, why don’t you tell us about how you got involved in this and who made first contact or was this kind of your baby?
Sanjay