In 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established the Low Wind Speed Technology (LWST) Program to develop technology that will enable wind energy systems to generate cost-competitive electrical energy at low wind speed sites. The program goal is to reduce the cost of electricity from large wind systems in Class 4 winds to 3.6 cents/kWh for land-based systems and to 7 cents/kWh for offshore systems in a Class 6 wind regime. Much of the United States strong wind resource is located away from load centers, and limitations of the transmission system reduce the ability of land-based wind energy projects to meet the needs of these centers. Many load centers are relatively near the nations coasts, where there is a considerable wind resource; however, much of it is in areas with relatively deep water. There are also challenges associated with locating wind energy projects within view of the nations coasts. If wind energy technology can be developed to cost-effectively establish wind turbines in deeper water, where there is an abundant wind resource and the projects are not visible from shore, significant additional power could be installed. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) issued a Request for Proposals in 2003 for a second round of contracts within the LWST program. Concept Marine Associates, Inc. (CMA) was awarded a Conceptual Design Study contract to examine the feasibility of various semi-submersible platform configurations for an offshore deep water wind turbine. This report describes the results of that subcontract, the design work involved, the design loads identified, and the overall estimated cost of energy (COE).
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