VolturnUS

File:VolturnUS Launch in Brewer, ME.jpg, making VolturnUS 1:8 the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the Americas.{{Citation|title=Nation's first floating wind turbine launched|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/nations-first-floating-wind-turbine-launched/ |access-date=2016-07-05}}]]

North America’s first floating grid-connected wind turbine was lowered into the Penobscot River in Maine on 31 May 2013 by the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center and its partners.{{cite web|last=Danko|first=Pete |url=http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/05/maine-floating-turbine-in-the-water/ |title=First US Floating Wind Turbine Launches In Maine |publisher=EarthTechling |access-date=2 December 2013}}{{cite journal|title=Renewable energy: Wind power tests the waters|journal=Nature News & Comment|year=2014|doi=10.1038/513478a|last1=Russo|first1=Gene|volume=513|issue=7519|pages=478–480|pmid=25254459|bibcode=2014Natur.513..478R|s2cid=4389285|doi-access=free}}{{Cite news|url= https://composites.umaine.edu/research/volturnus/ |title=VolturnUS - Advanced Structures & Composites Center - University of Maine|newspaper=Advanced Structures & Composites Center|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en-US}}

The VolturnUS 1:8 was towed down the Penobscot River where it was deployed for 18 months in Castine, ME, along with a UMaine-developed floating LiDAR.{{cite web|url= http://www.offshorewind.biz/2016/10/26/umaines-deepclidar-ready-for-the-market/ |title=UMaine's DeepCLiDAR Ready for the Market|work=Offshore Wind |date=26 October 2016|access-date=27 February 2017}}

The prototype employs a 20 kW Renewegy VP-20 wind turbine with a {{Convert|9.6|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} rotor.{{cite web|url= http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/deepcwind-consortium---volturnus---dyces-head-test-site-united-states-us31.html |title=DeepCwind Consortium - VolturnUS - Dyces Head Test Site |publisher=4C Offshore|access-date=24 November 2016}}

It is {{Convert|65|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall - that is 1:8 the scale of a 6-megawatt (MW), {{Convert|450|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} rotor diameter design.{{Cite web|url= http://bangordailynews.com/video/volturnus-18-windturbine-launched/ |title=VolturnUS 1:8 windturbine launches in 2013|access-date=2016-07-05}} The VolturnUS design utilizes a concrete semi-submersible floating hull and a composite materials towerproceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=1911731onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/we.1886/full designed to reduce both capital and operation & maintenance costs, and to allow local manufacturing throughout the US and the world. The VolturnUS technology is the culmination of collaborative research and development conducted by the University of Maine-led DeepCwind Consortium.{{Cite web|url= http://composites.umaine.edu/our-research/offshore-wind/deepcwind-consortium/ |title=DeepCwind Consortium {{!}} Advanced Structures & Composites Center {{!}} University of Maine|website=composites.umaine.edu |access-date=2016-07-05}}

During its deployment, it experienced numerous storm events representative of design environmental conditions prescribed by the American Bureau of Shipping Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, 2013.{{cite web|title=VolturnUS 1:8|url= http://composites.umaine.edu/our-research/volturnus/ |website=UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center|publisher=University of Maine|access-date=5 July 2016}}ANTHONY MICHAEL VISELLI, PE. HABIB JOSEPH DAGHER, PH.D, PE. ANDREW JOSEPH GOUPEE, PH.D. [http://www.sname.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=29ba03d8-4a91-4bfd-b0e7-54fb4a9aae88 VOLTURNUS 1:8 - DESIGN AND TESTING OF THE FIRST GRID-CONNECTED OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE IN THE U.S.A.]{{cite web|url= http://www.compositesworld.com/news/volturnus-floating-wind-turbine-celebrates-one-year-of-service |title=VolturnUS floating wind turbine celebrates one year of service |publisher=CompositesWorld |date=2014 |access-date=24 November 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2016/07/10/umaine-offshore-wind-project-poised-to-take-off/|title = Risky choices paying off for UMaine's wind project|date = 10 July 2016}}

It was taken out of the water in November 2014.

VolturnUS' floating concrete hull technology can support wind turbines in water depths of {{Convert|45|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} or more, and has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of offshore wind.

With 12 independent cost estimates from around the U.S. and the world, it has been found to significantly reduce costs compared to existing floating systems. The design has also received a complete third-party engineering review.{{Cite web|url=http://composites.umaine.edu/2016/05/30/new-england-aqua-ventus-i-selected-by-the-doe-for-additional-funding/|title=New England Aqua Ventus I Selected by the DOE for up to $39.9 Million in Additional Funding {{!}} Advanced Structures & Composites Center {{!}} University of Maine|website=composites.umaine.edu|access-date=2016-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719035555/http://composites.umaine.edu/2016/05/30/new-england-aqua-ventus-i-selected-by-the-doe-for-additional-funding/|archive-date=2016-07-19|url-status=dead}}

In June 2016, the UMaine-led New England Aqua Ventus I project won top tier status from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Technology Demonstration Program for Offshore Wind. This means that the New England Aqua Ventus project is now automatically eligible for an additional $39.9 million in construction funding from the DOE, as long as the project continues to meet its milestones. The developer asserts that the New England Aqua Ventus I project will likely become the first commercial scale floating wind project in the Americas.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced in June 2016 that Maine’s New England Aqua Ventus I floating offshore wind demonstration project was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in the Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration program.{{cite web|title=Maine Offshore Wind Project Moves to Top Tier of National Offshore Wind Demonstration Program|url= https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/maine-offshore-wind-project-moves-top-tier-national-offshore-wind-demonstration-program |website=U.S. Senator Susan Collins|date= 27 May 2016 |publisher=United States Senate|access-date=5 July 2016}} The project is opposed by Senator Dow with Bill LR1613.{{cite web|url= http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/u.s-senator-challenges-floating-demonstrator-project-nid5298.html |title=U.S Senator challenges floating demonstrator project|work=4c Offshore|date=10 February 2017|access-date=23 February 2017}}

New England Aqua Ventus I is one of two leading projects {{Cite web|url= https://energy.gov/eere/wind/offshore-wind-advanced-technology-demonstration-projects |title=Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects {{!}} Department of Energy|website=energy.gov|language=en |access-date=2017-02-21}} that are each eligible for up to $39.9 million in additional funding over three years for the construction phase of the demonstration program.

In 2020, UMaine expected costs to be $74/MWh by 2027 and $57/MWh by 2032.{{cite web |author1=Walter Musial, Philipp Beiter, and Jake Nunemaker |title=Cost of Floating Offshore Wind Energy Using New England Aqua Ventus Concrete Semisubmersible Technology |url=https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/75618.pdf |publisher=National Renewable Energy Laboratory |date=2020 }} In 2021, Maine applied for an offshore test area.{{cite web |title=Maine applies for floating wind lease |url=https://www.4coffshore.com/news/maine-applies-for-floating-wind-lease-nid24270.html |website=4c Offshore |language=en |date=4 October 2021}}

• Floating wind turbine
• DeepCwind Consortium
• UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site
• Wind Power in Maine
• Offshore wind power in the United States
• List of offshore wind farms in the United States

{{reflist}}

• [http://maineaquaventus.com/ Aqua Ventus I], wind farm website
• [https://composites.umaine.edu/research/volturnus/ Advance Structures and Composites Center - VoluturnUS]

Category:Wind power in Maine

Category:Offshore engineering

Category:Renewable energy policy in the United States

Category:University of Maine

Category:Floating wind turbines