NWTC IACMI Blade Fabrication; NREL Tracking No. 16-014B Award Number: DE-AC36-08GO28308 CX(s) Applied: DOE/EA-1968 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Date: 05/26/15 Location(s): CO Office(s): Golden Field Office
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
June 11, 2016
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NWTC IACMI Blade Fabrication; NREL Tracking No. 16-014B
Award Number: DE-AC36-08GO28308
CX(s) Applied: DOE/EA-1968
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Date: 05/26/2015
Location(s): CO
Office(s): Golden Field Office
The U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), is proposing to develop onsite capabilities that would allow them to pilot alternative approaches to the manufacturing of wind turbine blade components using various composite materials. Research would focus on decreasing mold cycle time, integrating thermoplastic matrices into the current production process, augmenting the robustness of fabric placement through automation, and demonstrating remote manufacturing capabilities.
The existing Quonset hut facility (Building 260) at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) was selected as the manufacturing site to conduct this pilot research. The building was modified in April-May 2016 from use as a storage facility to meet the needs of future research programs (NEPA Determination NREL-16-014).