Principle Power-Led Consortium Selected for a Major Grant for DeepFarm, an Innovative Project Developing Mooring Solutions for Deepwater Floating Wind Farms

Emeryville, CA, November 19, 2019 – A consortium of partners led by Principle Power has been selected for contract negotiations for an $850k grant (including $85k cost share) from The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium for DeepFarm, a project to develop pioneering mooring systems for deepwater floating offshore wind platforms.

DeepFarm, a selection of deepwater mooring research initiatives, will help accelerate the deployment of deepwater floating offshore wind projects by investigating a variety of innovative mooring components, each contributing to the design of a pioneering mooring system to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) of floating offshore wind.

“This award once again demonstrates Principle Power’s ability to lead cutting edge research and innovation, building on our technical excellence and proven expertise in floating wind. We are looking forward to working with the key market players, world-class universities, and leading research centers to deliver technical solutions for mooring systems that will underpin the competitiveness of floating wind while achieving significant cost reductions,” said Joao Metelo, CEO of Principle Power.

DeepFarm will enhance currently available open-source software tools for floating turbine design – FAST.Farm & MoorDyn – to optimize innovative mooring system components while reducing lifecycle costs. The project will also entail the development of an open-source mooring system design coupled with an LCoE assessment of shared-anchor layouts. The accuracy of these open-source models will be bolstered through techno-economic feasibility studies of the utilized mooring hardware.

The consortium, led by Principle Power, includes a diverse set of industry players, including Aker Solutions, the American Bureau of Shipping, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Scana Offshore, and the University of Massachusetts.

“Principle Power is thrilled to lead this talented consortium. Successful execution will undoubtedly contribute to the growth and maturation of the U.S. offshore wind market by helping to unlock the potential of deepwater projects,” said Steven Barras, CTO of Principle Power.

About Principle Power
Principle Power is a global energy technology and services company. The Company’s proven and in-demand WindFloat® floating technology is unlocking offshore wind potential worldwide by enabling projects to harvest the best wind resource, irrespective of water depth or seabed condition. Principle Power acts as a trusted partner to developers, independent power producers, utilities, and EPCs, supporting its customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their projects. With 100 MW under construction and advanced development in Portugal, Scotland, and France, and a multi-GW commercial pipeline globally, Principle Power is the market leader in floating offshore wind technology. 

About the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium
The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium was established in 2018 when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority was awarded $18.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As the first federally funded public-private partnership focused on advancing offshore wind technology in the United States, the Consortium, as a not-for-profit organization, aims to develop cost-effective and responsible development of offshore wind and to maximize economic benefit the United States. The grant from DOE was matched by financial support from NYSERDA for a term of four years. NYSERDA is administering this initial solicitation on behalf of the Consortium and is currently accepting proposals. More information on the Consortium can be found at http://nationaloffshorewind.org.