Low-Cost, Environmentally-Friendly, Concrete Anchors Made In California

RCAM Technologies, Inc.

Recipient

Los Angeles, CA

Recipient Location

28th

Senate District

55th

Assembly District

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$1,116,677

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

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Project Update

The project team has completed a design basis, establishing anchor design criteria representative of Morro Bay and Humboldt Wind Energy Areas, supported by a California Wind Energy Area Seabed Composition Report and a Reference Wind Site Report. Building on this foundation, the team has finalized conceptual designs for four different suction anchor configurations and four torpedo anchor configurations and has now downselected to one concrete torpedo anchor and one suction anchor design. The team is now advancing the design of the two downselected anchors, which will be incorporated into a full front-end engineering design report. In addition, several key project tasks can now begin, including California concrete anchor manufacturing planning, production layout, and costing, assessing the environmental impacts of anchor alternatives, material property characterization, penetration, and pullout testing using a centrifuge, and conducting a lifecycle and economic benefit assessment of the anchors.

The Issue

California’s wind energy areas have several unique anchor and mooring challenges, primarily due to their extreme depths, which are up to five times deeper than any existing floating offshore wind installations (1,500 meters compared to 300 meters). Deep waters require anchors with omnidirectional load capacity that can support cost-effective mooring configurations, such as semi-taut or taut mooring, tension-leg platforms, and shared anchors for multiple turbines or mooring lines. To minimize disturbance to benthic habitats, anchors should be installed quietly with a small footprint, and either be recoverable or embedded deeply below the mudline, allowing them to be cut off at the end of service. California’s wind energy areas also face a high likelihood of severe seismic activity, which can liquify the seabed and lead to loss of load capacity or catastrophic failure. Anchors are the third most expensive floating offshore wind component to manufacture after the turbine and floating platform. The cost of manufacturing and installing anchors and mooring systems can contribute up to 20 percent of wind plant capital expenditures, amounting to approximately $500,000 to $1 million per installed anchor. The challenge is further compounded by California’s deep waters, the limited availability of suitable installation vessels, an active wave environment, and a constrained domestic heavy-steel-fabrication supply chain, all of which contribute to higher manufacturing, installation, and retrieval costs.

Project Innovation

This project advances the design and development of two floating offshore wind anchors for California’s wind energy areas using automated construction technologies, like 3D concrete printing. By leveraging lower-cost, lower-carbon materials and enabling localized production at in-state ports, the project aims to provide a scalable, sustainable alternative to conventional steel anchors utilizing a local domestic workforce and supply chain.
The development process includes front-end engineering design, environmental and technoeconomic analysis, prototype fabrication, and laboratory, structural, and geotechnical testing. These efforts will refine two innovative concrete anchor concepts—one suction anchor and one torpedo anchor—optimized for California’s deepwater floating offshore wind farms. The project integrates advanced digital manufacturing techniques to reduce costs, streamline production, and enhance environmental performance while supporting the state’s clean energy and economic development goals.

Project Goals

Advance the design of and develop two 3D-printed concrete anchor concepts that minimize costs and environmental impacts.

Establish anchor design criteria suitable for California Wind Energy Areas.

Assess potential marine environmental impacts and identify methods of mitigation and assess anchor lifecycle impacts.

Project Benefits

This Agreement will result in ratepayer benefits by contributing to cost reductions in California's offshore wind deployments and by increasing grid resiliency and reliability of floating offshore wind through development of low-cost, locally manufactured concrete anchor technologies.

Reliability

The anchors will be designed for superior resilience against seismic events and other California Wind Energy Area-specific conditions and will have a long (30+ year) service life, decreasing the need for frequent disruptive replacements.