Renewable Energy Research (REnR)

The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 amended the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCS Lands Act), authorizing the Secretary of Interior to issue leases on the OCS for activities that produce or support production, transportation, or transmission of energy from sources other than oil and gas. These new activities must accommodate the EPAct requirement that any activity be carried out in a manner that provides for safety of operations and protection of the environment.

Because of the strong desire of the nation to furnish more of our power needs from renewable sources, many innovative new ideas are surfacing. Although offshore wind farms have been in existence in Europe for several years, the US OCS presents a unique operating environment. The water depth in many areas of the US OCS preclude the use of the traditional wind farm foundation types, and hurricanes and the open-ocean environment present distinctive challenges. Much is known about the environmental conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, and to a lesser extent, areas on the OCS offshore of California and Alaska.

In order to design facilities on the Atlantic and mid/northern Pacific, information is required on seabed topography, bathymetry, sediment types, and meteorological andoceanographic conditions. It is envisioned that floating wind turbines and other untested technologies will be presented in the near future that will require establishing minimally acceptable design standards for permitting their deployment.

The BSEE has also developed the capability to test wave and current energy conversion devices at the Ohmsett (1.17 MB PDF) wave and tow tank. Located in Leonardo NJ, this tank is one of the largest saltwater tanks in North America and is designed to evaluate the performance of meso-scale sized equipment under realistic but safe environmental conditions. It is able to generate up to one meter waves, and tow speeds up to 6.5 knots. The tank can be utilized for private research as well as those activities sponsored by BSEE.

REnR Reports
618	Comparative Study of Offshore Wind Turbine Generators (OWTG) Standards
627	Assess/Develop Inspection Methodologies for Offshore Wind Turbine Facilities
628	Assess the Design/Inspection Criteria/Standards for Wave and/or Current Energy Generating Devices
629	Assess the Design and Inspection Criteria and Standards for Wave and Current Energy Generating Devices
633	Wind Farm/Turbine Accidents and the Applicability to Risks to Personnel and Property on the OCS, and Design Standards to Ensure Structural Safety/Reliability/Survivability of Offshore Wind Farms on the OCS
634	Mitigation of Underwater Pile Driving Noise During Offshore Construction
636	Characteristics, Behavior and Response Effectiveness of Spilled Dielectric Insulating Oil in the Marine Environment
648	Offshore Wind and Ocean Energy Installation Cost Estimation in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
650	Offshore Wind Turbine Inspection Refinements
651	Evaluate the Effect of Turbine Period of Vibration Requirements on Structural Design Parameters
656	Seabed Scour Considerations
669	Floating Wind Turbines
670	Design Standards for Offshore Wind Farms
671	Offshore Electrical Cable Burial for Wind Farms: State of the Art; Standards and Guidance; Acceptable Burial Depths and Separation Distances; and Sand Wave Effects
672	Development of an Integrated Extreme Wind, Wave, Current, and Water Level Climatology to Support Standards-Based Design of Offshore Wind Projects
686	Regulating Worker Safety in Renewable Energy Operations on the OCS
701	Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - Oversight of Design, Fabrication, and Installation