New Floating Offshore Wind Energy Prize To Accelerate Domestic Supply Chain

Sept. 12, 2022

Illustration of an array of offshore wind energy turbines and a ship moving among them that shows the massive scale of the turbines. One turbine features underwater detail of its substructure, with attached cables going deep into the ocean water. In the corner is a U.S. Department of Energy American-Made Wind Prize logo.

The FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize, recently announced as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Floating Offshore Wind Shot, is designed to accelerate the market readiness of U.S. floating offshore wind energy technologies. With extensive experience managing American-Made Challenges competitions, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory was selected to administer the prize. Image by Besiki Kazaishvili, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office has launched the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize, a three-phase competition to help designers, developers, engineers, fabricators, vessel operators, procurement and construction companies, logistics firms, and ports develop a supply chain and accelerate the market readiness of U.S. floating offshore wind energy designs.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the FLOWIN Prize aims to help pave the way for cost-effective domestic manufacture and deployment of commercial utility-scale floating wind energy turbines in U.S. waters. Through their offshore wind energy designs, FLOWIN Prize competitors will bring the United States closer to the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Energy Shot™, one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots. These initiatives aim to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by 70% by 2035.

Phase One of the FLOWIN Prize is open for submissions until Jan. 13, 2023.

Watch the recording of the FLOWIN Prize informational webinar to learn more.