Accurate information about the wind resource and wind-energy potential in each state is required for federal and state policy initiatives that will expand the use of wind energy in the U.S. Recent resource maps and wind potential tables were developed through a collaborative project between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and AWS Truewind, LLC,…
NREL launches strategic energy analysis institute
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has established a new global institute dedicated to analyzing, speeding and smoothing the transition to sustainable energy worldwide. The Institute aims to use the best tools and most credible data to guide decisions on energy investment and policy – decisions made by policy makers, energy companies, investors and lawmakers…
NREL and Great Lakes Wind target midsized turbine designers and manufacturers
The DOE and NREL have launched the Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project to help close a technology gap and facilitate development and commercialization of midsize wind turbines. The Laboratory is sponsoring workshops in Ohio and Oklahoma, facilitated by Cleveland-based Great Lakes Wind Network, to build awareness of the DOE-NREL Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project and…
NREL and Great Lakes WIND target midsized turbine designers and manufacturers
The U.S. DOE and NREL have launched the Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project to help close the existing technology gap and facilitate development and commercialization of midsize wind turbines. The Laboratory is sponsoring workshops in Ohio and Oklahoma, facilitated by Cleveland-based Great Lakes Wind Network, to build awareness of the DOE-NREL Midsize Wind Turbine Development…
EPA says 12 environmental sites could be wind farms
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are evaluating the feasibility of developing renewable energy production on Superfund, brownfields, and former landfill or mining sites. Superfund sites are the most complex, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified by EPA for cleanup due to the…
National Labs and OEMs Have Lots of Ideas, Suggestions for Suppliers
The recent Wind Power Explained conference, presented at the Design and Manufacture Expo in Chicago, presented a full day of discussions to attendees on topics from the Department of Energy, NREL, Sandia Labs, GE Energy, Northern Wind, and Clipper Windpower. Here’s a sampling: “The DOE recognizes the challenge in making wind energy a reliable and…
Simulating the Turbine-Simulating the Site
Designing the most efficient and effective wind turbine calls for modeling tools that provide accurate, reliable numerical predictions of wind-turbine rotor performance over a machine’s full range of operating conditions. Simulating real-world conditions using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) lets users understand flow phenomena and their effects on the system, better predict the system’s power output,…
NREL adds two Multimegawatt Turbines
The clean wind energy industry must expand significantly in the next two decades to fulfill a strategy of generating 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. To provide the technological foundation for that dramatic growth, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is embarking on significant improvements at its National Wind Technology Center. Engineers are installing the…