Our Impact

Impact Metrics

To date, NOWRDC has funded 55 research projects, with 30 now completed. Upon project completion, we collect both quantitative reports and testimonial feedback.

With enough projects closed out, we are now able to provide a comprehensive view of how our funding influences individual projects and the broader offshore wind industry.

Below is a summary of our impact assessments, presented in three key areas:

High-Level Summary Statistics: Overview of portfolio distribution, TRL & CRL advancements, matched funding, and more.
LCOE Impact: A detailed analysis of LCOE impacts, with a link to the full report available in our resources tab.
Project PI Testimonials: Insights from project leaders on how NOWRDC funding has supported their work and contributed to project success.

Introduction: NOWRDC Funding and Competitive Solicitations

4 competitive solicitations to date

55 project awards

Over $55M in R&D grant funding

Over $6M in programmatic or leveraged funds

Goals of the funding:

Accelerate the deployment of offshore wind energy in the U.S.
Address challenges and obstacles facing the offshore wind industry and maximize economic and social benefits.
Reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of offshore wind in the U.S.

High Level Impact Stats

NOWRDC-funded project have on average, advanced by:

3 levels on the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale
1.5 levels on the Commercial Readiness Level (CRL) scale

42% of projects increase annual energy production (AEP)

76% of projects reduce risk during the project lifecyle

82% of projects reduce capex or opex

Funding Impact

NOWRDC’s research and development funding has significantly impacted each stage of offshore wind project development, with the greatest advancements seen in Installation and Operations & Maintenance. By driving innovation and reducing costs, NOWRDC is accelerating the industry from concept to commercial deployment.

NOWRDC Project Impact Across OSW Project Development Stages

*This data represents closed out projects only

LCOE Impact

NOWRDC has assessed the impact its closed out project awards have had on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and annual energy production (AEP) metrics of offshore wind in the US.

NOWRDC modeled innovation deployment across three hypothetical baseline wind farms:

Across each case, deploying NOWRDC-funded innovations led to:

NOWRDC has prioritized projects that have the potential to significantly reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), a critical metric that determines the economic viability of offshore wind energy. These selected projects represent cutting-edge innovations and strategies across multiple areas, including technology development, operational efficiency, and cost reductions in both capital expenditures (CapEx) and operational expenditures (OpEx).

Each project highlighted below was rigorously modeled to assess its potential impact on LCOE, ensuring that
these advancements will help make offshore wind energy more competitive and scalable.

NOWRDC Cost Impact Modeling - Baseline Scenario Introductions

Nearshore Fixed Bottom Scenario – The nearshore case was set up to be a typically representative farm for the first round of US East Coast development. The distance to shore is set at 30 miles, and the water depth across the farm at 30m. The COD is set for 2030 to represent some of the projects currently in the pipeline which fit this approximate geographic profile.

Farshore Fixed Bottom Scenario – This farm layout replicates the nearshore case, but was shifted further away from land, and into deeper water. This was done to help demonstrate the particular value of HVDC transmission in certain lease areas that fall within this distance from shore range (70 miles). For innovations, the three applied in the nearshore case are still applicable in this scenario, but we have added another which under NOWRDC funding investigated the cost implications of HVDC collection and transmission.

West Coast Floating Scenario – The theoretical floating farm was designed to be representative of a typical US West Coast lease area, with a water depth of (900-1000m). The “distance to shore” for this case is set at 125 miles to represent the point of interconnect-farm distance which is likely to be larger than the direct shore-farm distance due to the typically larger farm to load center spacing on the West Coast. Another key aspect of this scenario is that the construction year is set at 2035 to represent when it is predicted that the first fully commercial farms will be going into construction on the west coast.

LCOE Impact Modeling & Report

Through this metrics assessment exercise we have been able to provide a high level takeaway about the impact of the innovations supported by NOWRDC funding. These results go to show that the US innovation landscape is strong and varied, and with the right support a real impact on the US Offshore wind industry can be achieved. NOWRDC provides a targeted and impactful source of funding across many technical areas and to entities across the nation, whose research work is the key to being able to arrive at these results. While this captures just a small portion of our portfolio we can very clearly see the potential impact that innovation can have on this industry.

This was the first iteration of this analysis, and updates and revision are anticipated for the future. We anticipate being able to add even more impactful innovations into this broader analysis as the consortium’s closed out project portfolio grows. Updates may include new baseline areas, such as the Gulf of Maine, where more geographically specific technologies may provide an increased impact. If you are interested in helping us with this work in the future please reach out to Julian Fraize, at julian.fraize@nationaloffshorewind.org.

NOWRDC’s Qualitative Impact - Testimonials

Project leaders across the offshore wind industry have highlighted the invaluable support and collaboration facilitated by NOWRDC, emphasizing how the partnership has accelerated innovation and fostered groundbreaking solutions. Beyond measurable outcomes, these testimonials showcase the qualitative benefits of working with NOWRDC, such as enhanced industry connections, access to specialized expertise, and the ability to take on ambitious projects that may not have been feasible otherwise.

Mary Coyne - Anduril

Project 129: Fully Autonomous Subsea Asset Inspection by a Shore-Launched AUV.

“Working with NOWRDC was incredibly useful as it presented us unique opportunities to learn about other developments in OSW technologies and share lessons learned with others in the field. As a NOWRDC awardee we also learned how to present a united front from a technology perspective when talking to the industry. Finally, a major benefit of working with NOWRDC was access to a project advisory board of very interested experts.”

Nicola Bodini - NREL

Project 147502: A Validated National Offshore Wind Resource Dataset with Uncertainty Quantification.

“We appreciated that there was always a direct channel for communication with NOWRDC as well as a quick turnaround. We also valued the direct focus from NOWRDC for the project to be beneficial and useful to industry.”

Anthony Kirincich - WHOI

Project 154677: Development of a Metocean Reference Site near the MA & RI Wind Energy Areas

“Our project would not have been developed without the help and funding from NOWRDC. Thanks to NOWRDC we were able to produce results directly beneficial to the OSW industry.”