Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study

The Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study, co-led by NREL, evaluated coordinated transmission solutions that would enable offshore wind energy deployment along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, addressing gaps in existing analyses.

The study evaluated multiple pathways to enable offshore wind energy deployment through coordinated transmission solutions along the U.S. Atlantic Coast in the near term (by 2030) and long term (by 2050) under various combinations of electricity supply and demand while supporting grid reliability and resilience and ocean co-use.

The study fills gaps in prior analyses by providing a multiregional planning perspective that evaluates offshore wind generation development with transmission planning. It incorporates environmental, ocean co-use, and other siting considerations into defining potential offshore transmission routes. The study also compares different multiregional offshore transmission topologies and their associated costs and benefits. In addition, the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study analyzes reliability impacts from a multiregional perspective.

The study helped inform the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan. Researchers from NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted the study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office.

Project Objectives

The Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study was designed to:

• Identify scenarios and pathways of offshore wind energy deployment with transmission topologies (such as radial lines, backbones, or a meshed network), sequencing, and build-out in U.S. Atlantic waters from 2030 through 2050.
• Analyze impacts, such as economics, wind curtailment, and reliability, of multiple offshore wind energy and transmission scenarios.
• Characterize and compare transmission technologies for the different scenarios, as well as cost and benefit trade-offs for high-voltage alternating current and direct current technologies.
• Evaluate operational, environmental, reliability, and resilience considerations of various transmission topologies.
• Collect data and develop models that are readily usable by the offshore wind energy industry for conducting analyses and studies.

All activities closely engaged with and drew expertise from a technical review committee, which provided input throughout the project on assumptions, scenarios, and the modeling framework.

Key Findings

Offshore wind energy development provides a unique opportunity to add transmission capacity offshore that provides value to the electric grid. Key findings of the study include:

• Offshore wind energy is projected to be a key part of achieving a low-carbon future for Atlantic states.
• Offshore transmission can be planned while considering ocean co-uses and environmental constraints.
• Benefits of networking offshore transmission come from reduced curtailment, reduced usage of higher-cost generators, and contributions to reliability.
• Offshore transmission networks contribute to grid reliability by enabling resource adequacy and helping manage the unexpected loss of grid components (contingencies).
• Benefits of offshore transmission networking outweigh the costs, often by a ratio of 2 to 1 or more. Offshore networks with interregional interlinks provide the highest value.
• Building offshore transmission in phases can help reduce development risk, but early implementation of high-voltage direct current technology standards is essential for future interoperability.

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