This biannual U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Research and Development (R&D) Newsletter provides recent news about the DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office's R&D projects, accomplishments, upcoming events, and recent publications.

Letter from the WETO Acting Director

Photo of Valerie Reed, Acting Director of the Wind Energy Technologies Office.

Valerie Reed, WETO Acting Director

The U.S. wind industry is booming! As 2018 data continue to roll in, a few things are clear—wind is becoming more affordable, while industry growth is creating jobs and boosting rural economies, and offshore wind is scaling up. At the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), we're excited about trends that are crucial to our clean energy future. Read more.

Current R&D

Wake Steering Performance Evaluated at Scale
Wake Steering Performance Evaluated at Scale
Wake steering field trials reveal potential for wind-plant-level control to increase annual energy production 1%–2% and profits by $1 million.
Learn more
Study Assesses How To Break Barriers To Supersized Wind Turbine Blades
Study Assesses How To Break Barriers To Supersized Wind Turbine Blades
Design, manufacturing, and transportation option assessments show how “supersized” blades could increase energy, affordability, and site viability.
Learn more
New Model To Support the North American Renewable Integration Study
New Model To Support the North American Renewable Integration Study
U.S., Canadian, and Mexican collaboration on a new model helps industry plan an economically competitive and reliable long-term cross-border grid.
Learn more
Wind Energy Grows Up
Wind Energy Grows Up
An NREL study explores opportunities for increasing wind turbine hub height and the conditions and locations where these towers have the most impact.
Learn more
Mammal Mia! It’s Bat Tags Again
Mammal Mia! It’s Bat Tags Again
Small, light, wide-range tags more effectively track behavior and flight patterns, safeguarding bats from potential encounters with wind turbines.
Learn more
Workshop Explores Potential of Wind Innovations for Rural Economic Development
Workshop Explores Potential of Wind Innovations for Rural Economic Development
WETO workshop attendees share information about needs, challenges, and experiences unique to distributed wind, especially in rural areas.
Learn more
CFD Code Increases Accuracy of Turbine Wake Simulation
CFD Code Increases Accuracy of Turbine Wake Simulation
Accurate modeling of interactions between turbines, turbulence, and wakes indicates potential for lower wind plant costs and improved efficiency.
Learn more
Research Reduces Uncertainty of Wind Plant Energy Production Estimates
Research Reduces Uncertainty of Wind Plant Energy Production Estimates
More accurate evaluation of long-term wind speed variability and wind plant energy production could drive greater investment and lower energy costs.
Learn more
2020 Collegiate Wind Competition Participants Announced
2020 Collegiate Wind Competition Participants Announced
DOE announces the 12 teams competing in the competition, who will gain valuable real-world experience as they prepare to enter the workforce.
Learn more
WETO Projects Map
WETO Projects Map
Learn more about WETO’s R&D portfolio with an interactive map that allows users to search by states and types of partner organizations.
Learn more

DOE News

How Much Can Wind Plant Operators Save? WISDEM Counts the Ways
How Much Can Wind Plant Operators Save? WISDEM Counts the Ways
This small-scale field research project paves the way for a more comprehensive wind plant field validation effort.
Learn more
Initial Roadmap Released for $41-Million National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium
Initial Roadmap Released for $41-Million National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium
The consortium will address technological barriers to lower the costs and risks of offshore wind in the United States.
Learn more
U.S. Offshore Wind Standards Initiative
U.S. Offshore Wind Standards Initiative
A Business Network for Offshore Wind's "Offshore Wind Insider" podcast looked at the roles of DOE and NREL in offshore wind R&D.
Learn more

Events

U.S. Offshore Wind
June 10–11, 2019
Boston, Massachusetts

IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting
August 4–8, 2019
Atlanta, Georgia

North American Wind Energy Academy/WindTech 2019 Conference
October 14–16, 2019
Amherst, Massachusetts

AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition 2019
October 22–23, 2019
Boston, Massachusetts

ESIG 2019 Fall Technical Workshop
October 28–30, 2019
Charlotte, North Carolina

Composites World 2019 Carbon Fiber
November 19–21, 2019
Knoxville, Tennessee

AWEA Clean Energy Executive Summit 2019
November 19–21, 2019
Carlsbad, California

Funding News

DOE Awards $6.8 Million in Wind Energy Research Projects
DOE Awards $6.8 Million in Wind Energy Research Projects
DOE selected ten projects totaling $6.8 million that will reduce the impacts of land-based and offshore wind energy on bats and other wildlife.
Learn more
DOE Selects Advanced Wind Turbine Generator Projects
DOE Selects Advanced Wind Turbine Generator Projects
Awards will help researchers develop lightweight, efficient turbine drivetrain systems for tall wind and offshore applications.
Learn more
Request for Proposals (RFPs) to Address Wind-Wildlife Operational Challenges
Request for Proposals (RFPs) to Address Wind-Wildlife Operational Challenges
The subsequent contract will support emerging technologies that detect and deter bird and bat encounters with wind energy facilities.
Learn more
Funding Opportunity Announcement for Wind Energy R&D
Funding Opportunity Announcement for Wind Energy R&D
WETO has issued a $28-million multitopic FOA aimed at enabling wind energy nationwide across all sectors: land-based, offshore, and distributed.
Learn more
RFP for Offshore Wind R&D
RFP for Offshore Wind R&D
The National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium announced release of its first RFP, which is related to offshore wind plant technology advancement.
Learn more

Featured Publications

Visit DOE’s Wind Technology Resource Center for research reports, publications, data sets, and online tools developed by national laboratories and facilities.

Articles by Topic

Past Issues

See previous versions of the WETO R&D Newsletter.

This newsletter is also available for download: