Industry Leaders to Create U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Standards

Sept. 15, 2017

As the United States prepares for the imminent development of utility-scale offshore wind energy projects, it is incumbent upon the U.S. industry to develop consensus guidelines and standards that ensure orderly deployment and reduce uncertainty in the planning and development project phases. Lower regulatory uncertainty is also linked to lower development risk and hence reduced cost of energy. These nationally focused standards and guidelines need to account for the unique offshore conditions on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and state waterways (e.g., Great Lakes). This new national standards initiative is a collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Business Network for Offshore Wind, and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The end goal is to produce a set of unambiguous national standards and guidelines for offshore wind that are recognized by the American National Standards Institute. An Offshore Wind Technical Advisory Panel is being formed to create and manage four new technical working groups to accomplish the the following:

• Update to the existing AWEA Offshore Compliance Recommended Practices 2012
• Development of a companion recommended practices document to AWEA’s Offshore Compliance Recommended Practices 2012, specifically tailored to address floating wind energy systems on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
• Development of an AWEA recommended practices document on the proper collection, analysis, and interpretation of metocean parameters for planning, design, construction, operation, and decommissioning.
• Development of an AWEA recommended practices document on the proper collection, analysis, and interpretation of the various geotechnical data required to go from planning to design of an offshore wind plant.

Walt Musial, principal engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is the acting chairman of the Offshore Wind Technical Advisory Panel committee. He will share a presentation during a webinar on September 26 that describes this national offshore standards effort and opportunities to stay informed and participate in this important endeavor.