The U.S. Department of Energy will provide $28 million in funding for a research program that aims to develop new technologies for floating offshore wind turbines, according to a Feb. 1 press release.

• The department recognizes that the U.S. has the potential to lead the world in the development of offshore wind energy, particularly in floating turbine technologies, which are necessary to reap the benefits of the country’s best offshore wind sites.
• The funding will be channeled to a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, the Aerodynamic Turbines, Lighter and Afloat, with Nautical Technologies and Integrated Servo-control (ATLANTIS), bringing together diverse engineering disciplines to work concurrently on new ways to build floating offshore wind turbines that would not be possible under a traditional design approach.
• The department’s U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auctioned three leases off Massachusetts’ coast earmarked for the development of offshore wind farms, reaping a record-breaking $405-million. The bureau sold commercial wind energy leases comprising nearly 390,000 acres, which are expected to support about 4.1 gigawatts of power.
• New York’s Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo recently called for an offshore wind target of 9 gigawatts by 2035, up from 2.4 gigawatts by 2030, adding to the combined commitments of east coast states that are leading efforts to boost the industry with aggressive goals and contracts.