Federal government to fund US grid standardisation body

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will spend up to $1.25 million to help set up a consortium to standardise transmission development and advance offshore wind deployment along the Atlantic Coast.

by Gail Rajgor 19 September 2024

Maria Robinson, director US DOE grid deployment office (pic credit: US DOE)

Issued via its grid deployment office (GDO), the funding call will enable a group of technical experts, including specialised independent consultants or academic entities, to identify standardised offshore wind transmission equipment specifications to support coordinated procurement in the US.

The Standardisation for Interregional Offshore Wind Transmission initiative will be managed in collaboration with ConnectWerx, a DOE platform that supports the deployment of critical energy solutions, heightened energy security and stronger national security ecosystems.

The Biden-Harris Administration is aiming for 30GW of installed offshore wind by 2030 and 15GW of floating offshore wind by 2035, paving the way to deploying 110GW by 2050.

“Standardising transmission equipment used to connect offshore wind projects will give us a huge head start in bringing these systems online faster,” said Maria Robinson, director of the GDO.

Both the Atlantic offshore wind transmission action plan and transmission study highlighted the value that coordinated offshore transmission networks can bring to the Atlantic region. 

GDO will fund one principal investigator for a one-year period to assemble and lead a consortium of specialised technical experts potentially including OEMs, offshore wind farm developers, regional transmission organisations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs), transmission owners, utilities, and entities with experience in offshore wind standards and procurement.

The primary role of this research consortium is to provide guidance and develop best practices for the northeast states collaborative on interregional transmission, GDO said.

This will promote the efficient interconnection of projects that may be constructed by different vendors using equipment from various manufacturers across numerous time zones.

The consortium will develop ideas with the goal of informing near-term and future state offshore wind solicitation processes. 

While focused on the Atlantic region, it is expected that the work will benefit the whole US offshore wind industry and may inform future state action across coastal regions.