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GFO-22-401 – Advancing Environmental Monitoring Technologies for Floating Offshore Wind

Grantor:
CA Energy Commission
Departmental Grant ID:
GFO-22-401
Portal ID:
13295
Status:
Closed
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research and development projects that support the 2021 Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Interim Investment Plan initiatives 8b. “Inspection and Monitoring Systems for Floating Offshore Wind (FOSW) Applications” and 8c. “Environmental Research for FOSW Development."

Description:

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research and development projects that support the 2021 Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Interim Investment Plan initiatives 8b. “Inspection and Monitoring Systems for Floating Offshore Wind (FOSW) Applications” and 8c. “Environmental Research for FOSW Development.” Projects resulting from this solicitation will advance environmental monitoring technologies to support efforts by FOSW operators, state agencies, and other relevant entities to better evaluate potential biological and ecological implications of FOSW deployments. It is anticipated that FOSW will provide a valuable resource for achieving the clean energy goals of Senate Bill 100 (De León, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2018) and for supporting grid reliability. Additionally, Assembly Bill 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requires the California Energy Commission to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments in federal waters off the coast of California and establish megawatt planning goals for 2030 and 2045. In 2021, the Departments of the Interior and Defense and the state of California announced an agreement to advance areas for FOSW energy development off the northern and central coasts. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has since identified specific areas as the Humboldt Wind Energy Area (WEA) and Morro Bay WEA, which together have the potential to generate over 4 GW of offshore wind energy. In the context of California’s FOSW technical potential of 201 GW and technical feasible capacity of over 21 GW in five areas of study, these two WEAs will enable important first steps in building out a significant domestic clean energy resource. The anticipated development and deployment of FOSW on the California coast will require evaluation of a diverse array of potential environmental impacts, such as changes to marine life populations, habitat, oceanic processes (e.g., upwelling, nutrient flux), and collision and entanglement risks. , The potential impacts from such installations are not well documented and will require site-specific evaluations at the WEAs due to the novelty of both these floating installations and their interaction with California ecosystems. Current environmental monitoring technologies face limitations in temporal and spatial resolution and coverage, accuracy, and durability needed to adequately represent the risks and impacts. Additionally, continuous monitoring and data collection may be needed to better understand risks from FOSW to natural resources and wildlife.7 Experts have raised concerns that the need for effective monitoring will require large volumes of data, leading to some research in machine learning and managing extremely large datasets. Such monitoring may require extensive power compared to existing systems used for short-term or intermittent monitoring studies.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Business
  • Individual
  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

This solicitation is open to all public and private entities with the exception of local publicly owned electric utilities.

Eligible Geographies:

This solicitation is open to all public and private entities with the exception of local publicly owned electric utilities.

Matching Funding Requirement:

Match funding is required in the amount of at least 10% of the requested project funds.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
Week of 12/19/2022
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
Until funds expire

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$7,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
10%
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

It is anticipated that FOSW will provide a valuable resource for achieving the clean energy goals of Senate Bill 100 (De León, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2018) and for supporting grid reliability. Additionally, Assembly Bill 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requires the California Energy Commission to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments in federal waters off the coast of California.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Funds are disbursed on a reimbursement basis (where the Recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor).

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Phil Dyer, 1-916-891-8474, Phil.Dyer@energy.ca.gov

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