7 OREGON STATE ENGINEERING into lower costs per megawatt-hour, Robertson noted. The DOE estimates that the cost of building and installing commercial-scale floating wind farms will be about 50% more than the cost of comparable fixed-bottom arrays, but that they will eventually become economically viable. And because larger turbines produce more energy than smaller ones, fewer units will be needed to generate more electricity, creating economies of scale and further suppressing costs. The energy industry expects that a single floating turbine off the West Coast will generate about 15 megawatts. Currently, the largest fixed-bottom offshore turbines produce about 6 MW, while typical onshore turbines produce 2-3 MW. “Among the challenges for offshore wind is that the platforms are incredibly large, they’re incredibly expensive, and they require a significant amount of port infrastructure that just doesn’t exist yet on the West Coast,” Robertson said. He calls the dilemma a technology option without an infrastructure solution, but there may be ways to change that. “Right now, floating offshore wind platforms are a version of oil and gas platforms with some version of a terrestrial wind turbine bolted on top,” Robertson said. “I think there are huge opportunities to look at new ways to design and build them as a single device from top to bottom that doesn’t require massive port infrastructure.” Robertson and Lomonaco are quick to acknowledge that there is an ongoing discussion about the scale, timing, and applicability of offshore wind deployment in Oregon. Even with the most aggressive timelines, they anticipate that the first full-scale floating turbines won’t start operating off the West Coast for at least 10 years. In addition to the technological barriers that must be surmounted, other factors, such as social, environmental, and community concerns, also must be addressed. “One of my goals as the director of PMEC is to broaden the engagement in our activities across the university so we aren’t perceived as just an engineering center, but as a place where we do a lot of work on ecological, social, and environmental fronts and on the business aspects of developing this technology,” Roberston said. “Floating offshore wind power on the West Coast is going to happen with or without us at Oregon State,” Lomonaco said. “The difference is that by doing the work we’re doing here, we will be part of the process and contribute to solutions, taking into consideration technical, economic, and social aspects, so that wind power can become an even more important source of renewable energy.” OPPOSITE Oregon State researchers delivered simulated wind movements to a wave energy device by programming a robotic arm to push and pull the mast of a 1/50 scale device. BELOW Former graduate student Akiri Seki monitors the operation of the robotic arm supported by scaffolding in the multidirectional wave tank of the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab.
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