May 17, 2021

VolturnUS, UMaine’s floating offshore wind turbine, in Maine waters.

The US National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) has partially funded a project to develop a shallow-water floating offshore wind concept.

The team behind the project includes the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass) as the main contractor and the UK-headquartered company Genesis, which aims to develop a robust, cost-effective mooring system solution for floating wind farms in shallow water.

The water depths will range from 60 to 100 metres.

UMass was awarded NOWRDC funding for a floating wind mooring project last year. Its Techno-Economic Mooring Configuration and Design for Floating Offshore Wind project was one of the twelve offshore wind research and development (R&D) projects that received funding from a USD 10.3 million pool awarded by NOWRDC.