The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) in Cleveland, Ohio has appointed international engineering and operations support services contractor Offshore Design Engineering Limited (ODE), part of the DORIS Group located in the U.K., as the engineering representative for Icebreaker Wind, a 20.7 megawatt offshore wind project in Lake Erie, and the first freshwater offshore wind project in North America.
The appointment is the latest development in a three-year relationship between ODE and LEEDCo, the regional non-profit corporation that has proposed this six turbine wind demonstration project located 8-10 miles off the shore of Cleveland in Lake Erie. LEEDCo,, is partnering with Fred.Olsen Renewables USA, and has received over $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, with an additional $40 million in federal funding contingent on meeting future milestones.
Icebreaker Wind will provide the electricity needs for 7,000 homes. It is the first freshwater project of its kind in North America, the first to withstand significant foundation icing conditions (surface ice and keel ice loads on the structure) and the first to acquire a submerged lands lease option in the Great Lakes.
ODE brings a strong record in providing support and innovative solutions to a number of the international offshore wind developments. The Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm in UK waters, for which ODE worked between 2004 and 2012, is the first major UK development utilizing large turbines on jacket foundations and is recognized as one of the most innovative operational offshore wind farms in the world.
ODE has supported LEEDCo with technical expertise, knowledge of offshore wind projects internationally and relevant information needed to support the demonstration project, which is part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) program to promote the installation of innovative offshore wind systems in the USA.
