The country’s only fresh water offshore wind farm known as “Icebreaker” has been awarded $4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The project is led by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDC0). Through a one-year cooperative agreement, the DOE has committed $4 million to support the continued development of the project that will consist of five to nine wind turbines sited seven miles off the coast of Cleveland in Lake Erie. LEEDCo’s private partners have committed an additional $1 million to the project.

DOE awarded seven offshore wind projects funding. In addition to Icebreaker, projects in Maine, New Jersey,  Oregon, Texas and Virginia could receive up to $47 million over the next four years, for a combined total of nearly $180 million, subject to Congressional appropriations.

The selected demonstration projects will help address key challenges associated with installing utility-scale offshore wind turbines, connecting offshore turbines to the power grid, and navigating new permitting and approval processes.

“The DOE funding for ‘Icebreaker’ is a testament and vote of confidence for LEEDCo’s world-class team members and partners,” said LEEDCo President Dr. Lorry Wagner.  “After a highly-competitive evaluation process, I am excited and proud to say that ‘Icebreaker’ was selected for its innovation and expertise in wind energy development, paving the way for future financial support from the Department of Energy and private investors.”

Among LEEDCo’s winning development team for the project are Case Western Reserve University, McMahon DeGulis, Freshwater Wind, Siemens, and DNV KEMA.