West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study
West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study
Investigating the potential for floating offshore wind to lower energy costs and enhance the resilience of the nation’s western grid
Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
As electricity use rises to power transportation, buildings, and more, researchers estimate that the western United States will need 400 additional gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity by 2050.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted a two-year study to investigate the potential of floating offshore wind (OSW) to help meet this need, while also enhancing the resilience of the nation’s western grid. The study is funded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Deployment Office and co-managed by DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office.
The study analyzes the costs and benefits of adding floating OSW turbines along the United States’ Pacific coast. It shows that floating OSW could bring 33 GW of energy to the western United States by 2050 and bolster the resilience of coastal communities.
It also shows that, in some scenarios, the additional transmission that would be built to transport the offshore wind energy could also help transport other lower-cost energy like solar and hydropower, ultimately leading to billions of dollars in savings across the Western Interconnection. It also identifies some considerations for future planning. Depending on how offshore wind transmission is built, the benefits may differ by region.
The team modeled the costs and benefits of five different scenarios for connecting floating offshore wind turbines to the coast, two that could be built by 2035 and three by 2050. They found that starting with a radial structure in 2035 that would evolve into a backbone structure, connecting grid operating regions, provides the most benefits at the least cost. They estimated that after construction costs, savings could total $25 billion in today’s dollars—mostly due to the ability to share lower-cost energy across grid regions.
More research is needed to ensure consumers receive maximum energy benefits at the lowest cost, and to understand the potential impacts to ecosystems on which communities rely. In future work, the team plans to study the costs and benefits to specific communities along the coast, and how those costs and benefits differ between regions.