Fall 2016 Wind R&D Newsletter

This U.S. Department of Energy Wind R&D Newsletter provides recent news about the DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office's R&D projects, its accomplishments, upcoming events, funding opportunities, and recent publications.

Letter from the Wind Energy Technologies Office Director

National Offshore Wind Strategy Charts the Course for a New Era in Wind Energy Production

Offshore wind is setting sail in the United States, charting the course for a new era of wind energy production. As the industry gathers for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Offshore WINDPOWER conference, I’m pleased to draw your attention to the groundbreaking national offshore wind strategy just completed by the Energy Department and Interior Department. More

Energy Department in the News

Joint National Offshore Wind Strategy Launched 

The National Offshore Wind Strategy: Facilitating the Development of the Offshore Wind Industry in the United States provides a snapshot of the current state of the industry, refinements in resource assessment and cost reduction trajectories, and a roadmap for how the Departments of Energy and the Interior can support the industry's future growth and success. More

Research Buoy Data Available to Offshore Wind Industry

One of two research buoys commissioned by the Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has ended a 19-month deployment off Virginia Beach, Virginia. During this time, the heavily instrumented buoy collected a wealth of information, which forms the first publicly accessible database to help improve offshore turbine development and reduce barriers to private funding in the offshore wind industry. More  

Energy Department Market Reports Provide Key Industry Data

The Energy Department has published two reports that compile 2015 market wind industry market data.

  • The 2015 Wind Technologies Market Report, now in its tenth year, provides a detailed overview of developments and trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a particular focus on 2015. More
  • The 2015 Distributed Wind Market Report offers market statistics and analysis, along with insights into its trends and characteristics. More
The Pennsylvania State University Wins the 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition 

Top place in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition went to The Pennsylvania State University during an award ceremony held at the American Wind Energy Association WINDPOWER conference last spring. Twelve student teams from across the United States and Puerto Rico competed to build a small-scale wind turbine that can provide off-grid power. More

Energy Department Partnership to Support Wind for Schools Program

The Wind Program announced that the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) has been selected as a partner to support the Wind for Schools program. DWEA's project team will work with existing Wind for Schools participants to further the initiative's mission of bringing wind education to the classroom through experiential learning. More

Virtual Wind Simulator To Help Optimize Offshore Energy Production

An advanced modeling tool funded by the Energy Department is now available to help offshore wind plant developers, wind turbine original equipment manufacturers, and researchers design offshore turbine and foundation systems. More

Energy Department Video Introduces Atmosphere to Electrons Research Initiative

The Wind Program has produced a new video to introduce the Atmosphere to Electrons (A2e) research initiative to key audiences. A2e targets significant reductions in the cost of wind energy through an improved understanding of the complex physics governing electricity generation by wind plants. The initiative’s goal is to ensure future wind plants are sited, built, and operated in a way that produces the most cost-effective, usable electric power. More

CURRENT R&D

Energy Department Wind Program Presentations at American Wind Energy Association Offshore WINDPOWER 2016

Stop by the Energy Department’s exhibit booth #3436 at the AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER Conference to meet Wind Energy Technologies Office personnel and learn about the latest Energy Department-funded research. More

Demonstration Projects Feature Innovative Offshore Wind Technologies

From floating foundations to twisted jacket and Mono Bucket foundations, some of the nation’s most inventive offshore wind technologies are featured in a portfolio of advanced offshore wind energy demonstration projects that the Energy Department has been supporting since 2012. More

Survey Reveals Projections for Lower Wind Energy Costs

According to a survey of 163 of the world’s foremost wind power experts, continued advancements in wind energy technology are anticipated to reduce the cost of generating electricity by 24%–30% by 2030 and 35%–41% by 2050. With market growth and aggressive research and development, costs could be even lower: experts predict a 10% chance that reductions could reach more than 40% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050. More

Lidar Buoys Finish First Tour

One of two Energy Department offshore wind research buoys, which hold an array of advanced research equipment to assess the energy potential of offshore wind sites, has returned after a 19-month deployment off the coast of Virginia. The other is completing a tour off the New Jersey coast. The data gathered by the buoys will help scientists and developers better understand air-sea interactions and their impact on how much wind energy a turbine could capture at particular offshore sites. More

Bats Offshore? Energy Department Research Study Shows Where and When

A long-term acoustic survey of bat activity at remote islands, offshore structures, and coastal sites in the Gulf of Maine, Great Lakes, and mid-Atlantic Coast has helped reveal where and when bats fly offshore. The multiyear study, funded by the Energy Department, was the most extensive study on bat activity offshore conducted to date. More

Sandia National Laboratories Work to Reduce Cost of Deep-Water Offshore Wind

The biggest barrier to realizing the potential benefits of offshore wind is its cost, particularly in deep-water environments—and nearly 60% of U.S. offshore wind resources are located in water deeper than 60 meters or more. Sandia National Laboratories’ floating offshore vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) research project focuses on demonstrating how innovative VAWT rotor designs could enable reliable, cost-effective, and easily manufactured rotor systems for deep-water offshore machines. More

Meteorological Ocean Data Available for Offshore Wind Energy Research and Design

The Metocean Database from the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory offers publicly available data dedicated to offshore wind energy design. More

Experiment Investigates Steering of Wind Farm Wakes for Improved Performance

As part of the Energy Department’s Atmosphere to Electrons research initiative, wake steering experiments at the Scaled Wind Farm Technology facility are designed to determine whether yaw-based wake steering control strategies can improve the performance of a wind farm. More

Past Issues

See previous versions of the Wind Energy Technologies Office R&D Newsletter.

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