This U.S. Department of Energy Wind Program Newsletter provides recent news about the program's R&D projects, its accomplishments, upcoming events, funding opportunities, and recent publications.
Letter from the Wind Program Director
This fall edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter comes at an exciting time for the Wind Program. Advancements in next-generation wind energy technologies are allowing the Wind Program to reach new heights and push the boundaries of innovation further than ever before. More
DOE In the News
DOE Wind Program to Host Booth at Offshore WINDPOWER
Stop by Department of Energy's (DOE's) Wind Program exhibit in booth #200 to meet Wind Program personnel and learn about the latest DOE-funded research. More
Three Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects Receive Phase 2 Funding
DOE awarded additional funding to three of the seven projects from the Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Funding Opportunity. Dominion Virginia Power, Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, and Principle Power will each receive up to $46.7 million over the next four years to advance their projects, targeting deployment by 2017. More
Three DOE Reports Analyze U.S. Wind Energy
DOE recently released three reports that provide a detailed analysis of the markets for utility-scale land-based technologies, offshore wind technologies, and distributed wind technologies. More
Study Finds 54 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Energy Capacity Technically Possible by 2030
According to a new study funded by DOE, the United States has sufficient offshore wind energy resources to legitimize the installation of at least 54 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030. More
DOE Offers Conditional Commitment to Cape Wind Offshore Wind Generation Project
DOE recently announced the first step toward issuing a $150 million loan guarantee to support the construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind project with a conditional commitment to Cape Wind Associates, LLC. The project could be the first commercial-scale offshore wind facility in the United States, with a capacity of more than 360 megawatts of clean energy off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. More
NREL Announces Two New Competitiveness Improvement Project Awards
In July, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced two new Competiveness Improvement Project (CIP) awards. Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vermont, and Urban Green Energy of New York City, New York, will receive a portion of the $1.27 million allocated to the CIP in support of DOE’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative. More
Current R&D
2011 DOE-Funded Offshore Wind Project Updates
For the past few years, much of DOE’s Wind Program’s research and development efforts have been focused on accelerating the development and deployment of offshore wind energy technology. In 2011, DOE awarded $43 million to 41 projects across 20 states to speed technical innovations, lower costs, and shorten the timeline for deploying offshore wind energy systems. This section of the Wind Program Newsletter includes updates, information, and results from those projects. More
New Superconducting Magnet Will Lead to Next Generation of Wind Turbine Generators
AML Superconductivity and Magnetics, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory, recently announced that their superconducting magnet system passed a landmark reliability test, demonstrating its potential suitability for wide-scale commercial applications. More
New Version of FAST Released
DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently released a new, more robust version of its FAST software under a modularization framework that represents a generational change in how computer-aided engineering tools are developed. More
A Minnesota Blizzard Provides Insight into Utility-Scale Wind Turbine Wakes
Jiarong Hong can hardly wait for summer to end and Minnesota's harsh winters to return. That is because the University of Minnesota mechanical engineering assistant professor and St. Anthony Falls Laboratory researcher uses blizzard conditions to help visualize wind turbine wakes. Starting in 2012, Hong and other researchers tried placing spotlights downwind from the 2.5-megawatt wind turbine at the DOE-funded EOLOS Wind Energy Research Field Station in Rosemount, Minnesota. More
Sandia National Laboratories Develops Tool for Evaluating Wind Turbine-Radar Impacts
DOE and Sandia National Laboratories are continuing to work toward better integrating new wind turbines with their local environment. One barrier to wind energy installations has been the concern that wind turbines may impact the National Air Space radar system. More
Argonne National Laboratory Researchers Shine "Light" on Origins of Wind Turbine Bearing Failures
Researchers at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory are investigating the root cause of failures to wind turbine drivetrain components, such as bearings and gears. One of the leading causes of drivetrain reliability issues is a complicated mode of bearing failure known as white-etching cracks. More
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Assesses Risks for Marine Vessel Traffic and Wind Energy Development
Sponsored by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and in close coordination with BOEM and the U.S. Coast Guard, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed an assessment of navigation safety risks that may be posed by offshore wind farms. More
International Effort Advances Offshore Wind Turbine Design Codes
For the past several years, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has teamed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES in Germany to lead an international effort under the International Energy Agency's Task 30 to improve the tools used to design offshore wind energy systems. More
Sandia National Laboratories Releases Updated Wind Plant Modeling Guidelines
Sandia National Laboratories, in collaboration with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council's Renewable Energy Modeling Task Force, released an updated version of the WECC Wind Plant Dynamic Modeling Guidelines for the second generation of generic wind turbine generator models. More
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Identifies Research Needed to Address Power Market Design Challenges
A new report by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory identifies research opportunities to improve the ways in which wholesale electricity markets are designed, with a focus on how the characteristics of variable generation from wind and solar power can affect those markets. More
Past Issues
See previous versions of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.