Earlier this month the United States government announced supportive measures for the renewable energy fields. Such support is considered necessary in order to make the U.S. competitive in the renewable markets, namely wind and solar. China, which has many governmental incentives for renewables, is increasing pressures on competitors outside China.
The thriving renewable industry in China is putting pressures on companies which are already struggling due to economic woes. However, companies and even countries which develop new technology often have an upper hand. The U.S. government awarded numerous grants earlier this month in order to assist in developing such technology.
Overall, $43 million was given out in grants by the Department of Energy for forty-one projects. Of those forty-one projects, nineteen are for development of offshore wind technology for a total of $26.5 million. In addition, projects in order to remove market barriers like those relating to China amount to $16.5 million for twenty-two projects.
One project supported by a grant by the U.S. government includes a $4.1 million project to develop new technology regarding control systems and sensors which will assist in increasing the energy efficiency of offshore wind. In addition, reducing the cost of establishing such offshore wind turbines is also be investigated. One goal of the project is to create a 6 megawatt offshore wind turbine which will be built to generate energy in the waters of the United States specifically.
The U.S. government hopes that the projects they have decided to assist will cause an eventual decrease in the cost of offshore wind projects. The government has also noted an interest in reducing the time it takes to establish a wind farm offshore.
