Projects in three states will lead the way as the United States attempts to leap ahead on offshore wind power by deploying cutting-edge technologies. The Obama administration announced on Wednesday it would grant  awards of up to $47 million apiece to three renewable energy projects.

The U.S. Department of Energy selected projects in Oregon, New Jersey and Virginia from among seven candidates that had received around $4 million in initial funding in December 2012. The winning projects feature technologies that move beyond offshore wind power as it has developed in Europe in the past decade – and as is planned for the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts.

That last controversial project has struggled for years to clear financial,