The US Department of Energy (DOE) will invest $4.75 million to construct a new offshore wind research centre as the government seeks to accelerate the development of renewable technologies across the country. The funds will be used to establish the Academic Centre for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW), led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As per DOE, the center’s primary objectives are to grow the workforce, conduct targeted research, and establish partnerships and ways to integrate equity into offshore wind development.
ARROW will receive $4.75 million over five years from the DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, with a matching contribution of $4.75 million from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre. The project’s overall budget is $11.9 million, including a $1 million contribution from the state of Maryland through the Maryland Energy Administration and a $1.4 million contribution from other colleges.
Reportedly, the consortium will bring together nearly 40 partners from across the US to help drive progress towards the government’s target to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, a 100 per cent clean electricity grid by 2035, and net zero emissions nationwide by 2050.
