Research and Development Opportunities for Offshore Wind Energy in California
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Energy Research and Development Division FINAL PROJECT REPORT Research and Development Opportunities for Offshore Wind Energy in California Gavin Newsom, Governor August 2020 | CEC-500-2020-053 PREPARED BY: Primary Authors: Amul Sathe Andrea Romano Bruce Hamilton Debyani Ghosh Garrett Parzygnot Martins Paberzs Guidehouse 101 California Street San Francisco, CA 94111 guidehouse.com Contract Number: 300-15-009 PREPARED FOR: California Energy Commission Silvia Palma-Rojas, Ph.D. Project Manager Jonah Steinbuck, Ph.D. Office Manager ENERGY GENERATION RESEARCH OFFICE Laurie ten Hope Deputy Director ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION Drew Bohan Executive Director DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as the result of work sponsored by the California Energy Commission. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Energy Commission, its employees or the State of California. The Energy Commission, the State of California, its employees, contractors and subcontractors make no warranty, express or implied, and assume no legal liability for the information in this report; nor does any party represent that the uses of this information will not infringe upon privately owned rights. This report has not been approved or disapproved by the California Energy Commission nor has the California Energy Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the information in this report. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The project team would like to thank the following technical advisory committee members for their invaluable assistance with this project: • American Wind Energy Association • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management • California Energy Commission • California Independent System Operator • California Public Utilities Commission • Ocean Protection Council The project team would also like to acknowledge the contributions of interviewees from the following organizations: • Aker Solutions, Asia Wind Energy Association, Audubon Society, Business Network for Offshore Wind, California Coastal Commission, California State Lands Commission, Castle Wind, Clean Power Alliance, DNV GL, EnBW, Equinor, GE Renewable Energy, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, Monterey Bay Community Power, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ørsted, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, Principle Power, RCAM Technologies, Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University, Siemens Gamesa, Sonoma Clean Power, Southern California Edison, Stiesdal Offshore Technologies, UC Berkeley Labor Center, University of Maine, U.S. Department of Energy, and Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. i PREFACE The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Energy Research and Development Division supports energy research and development programs to spur innovation in energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced clean generation, energy-related environmental protection, energy transmission and distribution and transportation. In 2012, the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) was established by the California Public Utilities Commission to fund public investments in research to create and advance new energy solutions, foster regional innovation and bring ideas from the lab to the marketplace. The CEC and the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities—Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison Company—were selected to administer the EPIC funds and advance novel technologies, tools, and strategies that provide benefits to their electric ratepayers. The CEC is committed to ensuring public participation in its research and development programs that promote greater reliability, lower costs, and increase safety for the California electric ratepayer and include: • Providing societal benefits. • Reducing greenhouse gas emission in the electricity sector at the lowest possible cost. • Supporting California’s loading order to meet energy needs first with energy efficiency and demand response, next with renewable energy (distributed generation and utility scale), and finally with clean, conventional electricity supply. • Supporting low-emission vehicles and transportation. • Providing economic development. • Using ratepayer funds efficiently. Research and Development Opportunities for Offshore Wind Energy in California is the final report for Contract Number 300-15-009 conducted by Guidehouse. The information from this project contributes to the Energy Research and Development Division’s EPIC Program. For more information about the Energy Research and Development Division, please visit the CEC’s research website (www.energy.ca.gov/research/) or contact the CEC at 916-327-1551. ii ABSTRACT California’s oceans hold energy resources that could contribute to meeting the renewable energy and low carbon energy goals outlined in Senate Bill 100. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has identified that California has a technical resource capacity of 112 gigawatts of offshore wind. This capacity occurs primarily in deep waters that require floating platform technology to support wind turbines. California faces various challenges with installing offshore wind turbines. These challenges include insufficient offshore wind historical-technical data and maturity of floating offshore wind technology, depth of offshore waters, high cost of floating technology, lack of information on the impact of these systems on sensitive species and habitats, strict environmental standards, and untested permitting processes. Identifying ways to support technology innovation to address California-specific challenges will help with long-term development of cost-effective offshore wind projects. Supporting innovation and reducing costs will enable offshore wind to compete in the California energy market and the Western Energy Imbalance Market without subsidies. The California Energy Commission funded this study to develop priority recommendations that would lead to cost-effective offshore wind projects. The study identifies 11 research, development, and deployment opportunities to remove or reduce technological, manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain barriers to deployment; lower the development risk of offshore energy projects; and identify opportunities for early pilot demonstration projects. Keywords: California, offshore wind, floating offshore wind, offshore energy, offshore development, renewable energy, wind energy, RD&D Please use the following citation for this report: Sathe, Amul, Andrea Romano, Bruce Hamilton, Debyani Ghosh, Garrett Parzygnot (Guidehouse). 2020. Research and Development Opportunities for Offshore Wind Energy in California. California Energy Commission. Publication Number: CEC-500-2020-053. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... i PREFACE ............................................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................1 Study Overview ................................................................................................................1 Research Approach ..........................................................................................................1 Barriers ...........................................................................................................................2 Research, Development, and Demonstration Recommendations ..........................................3 Technology and Infrastructure Research Recommendations .............................................3 Environment and Resource Research Recommendations ..................................................4 Other Research Recommendations .................................................................................5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................7 Project Purpose ................................................................................................................7 Project Approach ..............................................................................................................8 Research Database ...................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: Global and California Offshore Wind Market Overview .................................... 11 Technology Overview ..................................................................................................... 11 Platform Technology .................................................................................................... 11 Turbine Technology ..................................................................................................... 13 Global Market Overview .................................................................................................. 14 Global Floating Platform Market Pipeline ....................................................................... 15 United States Market