Workshop Focuses on the Future of Offshore Wind Energy
The Office of the Vice President for Research co-hosted an Offshore Wind Workshop along with powerhouse offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource that brought together experts presenting on the “Future of Offshore Wind.” The May 23 event was held live at the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT).
“The workshop demonstrated how closely aligned our researchers are with the technical challenges that leading companies Ørsted and Eversource confront as they move forward with development of offshore wind for New York and the Northeast,” said Richard J. Reeder, vice president for research at Stony Brook University, who welcomed approximately 70 audience members to the event and introduced the speakers.
The workshop was brought about through the efforts of Marie-Lou Picherit, U.S. Ventures and Open Innovation Manager for Ørsted; and Ken Bowes, vice president, Offshore Wind Siting and Permitting for Eversource.
The workshop presented an opportunity to discuss the challenges that still need to be worked on as the world moves toward clean energy through offshore wind, and to bring forward new and innovative ideas. Picherit and Bowes gave a short overview of the market and R&D strategy for Ørsted/Eversource.
“The workshop marked the beginning of an exciting collaboration between Stony Brook University and the offshore wind development teams at Ørsted and Eversource,” said Picherit. “Initiatives like this research and development partnership between industry and academia are an important way to develop, accelerate and scale innovations that will facilitate the cost-effective integration of offshore wind, an essential component of the clean energy transition in New York State and beyond.”
Stony Brook University professors Brian Colle, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; Peng Zhang, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Yue Zhao, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering presented detailed updates of their progress in the research projects funded by Ørsted and Eversource.
Colle, joined by Jeffrey Freedman of the University at Albany, delivered a presentation on “Integrating Unique Observations and Models to Improve Offshore Wind Resource Assessment and Energy Production Forecasts.” Zhang’s presentation was “Enabling Reliable Ultra-Scale Offshore Wind Energy Integration into New York Power Grids.” Zhao presented on “Energy Storage Solutions for Transmission Planning and Grid Stability with Massive Offshore Wind Farms.”
The workshop concluded with a panel on “Challenges in Offshore Wind,” moderated by Bob Catell, chairman of the board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, which included Patricia Malone, Stony Brook’s associate vice president for professional education and assistant provost for engaged learning at the School of Professional Development.