The Energy Department recently announced $5 million in funding to 11 states to advance innovative approaches for local clean energy development that will reduce energy bills for American families and businesses, protect the environment by reducing carbon emissions, and increase our nation’s national energy security. In support of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, each state…
Energy Department announces two new actions to spur clean energy manufacturing growth and innovation
The Energy Department recently announced new research and development (R&D) efforts as part of the Department’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI). These two efforts—a national laboratory-industry collaboration pilot and a competitive solicitation to leverage national labs’ high-performance computing capabilities—will contribute to CEMI’s work to strengthen U.S. clean energy manufacturing competitiveness. “Our new Technologist in Residence pilot will…
DOE report encourages wind power across America
This article is the Executive Summary from the DOE report, Enabling wind power nationwide, the full report is available here: energy.gov/windvision Today, wind energy provides nearly 5% of the nation’s total electricity generation. With 65 gigawatts (GW) deployed, utility-scale installations in 39 states, and wind power generation exceeding 12% in 11 of those states, wind…
A better ladder will lead to safer access to offshore wind-turbine platforms
Alana Duerr Ph.D., Ocean Engineer, New West Technologies More than 4,000 gigawatts of estimated gross offshore wind potential lies off the U.S. coastline – that’s more than four times the current generation capacity of the United States. With the coastal and Great Lakes states consuming nearly 80% of our nation’s electricity, offshore wind can play a…
Officials highlight need for stable policy to continue growing wind energy
Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz emphasized the need for stable policy for wind energy as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released data showing the cost of wind energy has fallen by nearly two-thirds over the last six years. “With declining costs and continued technological development, these reports demonstrate that wind power is a reliable…
American wind power at “transformational point in time” as industry attempts to meet Wind Vision
Coming off a year in which the industry added 23,000 jobs and put $23 billion of private investment behind 100 wind projects, new AWEA Board Chair Mike Garland declared it’s time for the industry to start flexing its muscle. “From the smallest companies to the largest, we have a shared responsibility to make this vision…
AWEA’s statement on the Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Energy Review
Editor’s note: The Department of Energy released its Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), which explores options for modernizing the nation’s energy grid in a secure and cost-competitive manner. It also identifies vulnerabilities in the system and proposes policy recommendations and investments to replace and expand infrastructure where appropriate. Links to the review’s summary and full report…
NREL and partners review key issues and lessons learned from U.S. wind integration studies
As a complement to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) recently released Wind Vision report, a new paper summarizes the lessons learned from actual power systems operational practice, along with some of the most relevant and comprehensive wind integration studies conducted during the past several years. In the years since the DOE’s “20% Wind Energy by…
“Wind Vision” highlights: Continuing the success of wind energy
The Energy Department recently released the highly anticipated Wind Vision Report that quantifies the economic, environmental, and social benefits of a robust wind energy future through 2050. Defining a Roadmap of targeted actions that the country can take to build upon wind energy’s continued success, the Wind Vision Report revisits the findings of the 2008…
New funding opportunity to develop larger wind turbine blades
The Energy Department has announced $1.8 million in funding for the development of larger wind turbine blades that will help capture more power from wind resources and increase the efficiency of wind energy systems. This funding will support the research and development (R&D) of technological innovations to improve the manufacturing, transportation, and assembly of wind…
Wind was largest source of new electricity in 2014
American wind power added significantly more new electricity than any other resource in 2014, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. Wind power generated 4.4% of all the electricity in America in 2014 and maintained its position as the fifth largest electricity source in the U.S., according to the latest data from the U.S. Department…
Energy Department names 2014 wind cooperatives of the year
The Energy Department and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has recognized the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State) and San Isabel Electric Association (San Isabel) of Colorado as the 2014 WINDExchange Wind Cooperatives of the Year. The awards were presented recently at the NRECA TechAdvantage Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, to honor…
Vaisala and US DoE to improve wind forecasting in complex terrain through $2.5M study
The three-year project is set to address impact of wind variability in challenging topographies worldwide. Vaisala, an expert in environmental and industrial measurement, has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to coordinate a $2.5 million project to improve wind energy forecasting in complex landscapes and terrain. As the wind energy industry expands…
NREL industry growth forum attracts clean energy entrepreneurs and investors
Forum to feature business presentations from 30 clean energy startups, networking opportunities, compelling panels and speakers Thirty clean energy companies will present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts Oct. 28 and 29 in Denver, as the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts its annual Industry Growth Forum. The…
U.S. Department of Energy increases access to results of DOE-funded scientific research
The U.S. Department of Energy is introducing new measures to increase access to scholarly publications and digital data resulting from Department-funded research. The Energy Department has launched the Public Access Gateway for Energy and Science –PAGES – a web-based portal that will provide free public access to accepted peer-reviewed manuscripts or published scientific journal articles within…
Statement from DWEA Executive Director, Jennifer Jenkins on 2013 Distributed Wind Market Report
The Department of Energy’s 2013 Distributed Wind Market report highlights American manufacturing success story “The Distributed Wind Market Report issued by the Department of Energy underscores what an American small business success story this industry is and the market is on track to outpace last year’s deployments by a significant margin. This is a homegrown…
A closer look at two remaining financial tools
There is little doubt that the production tax credit increases wind-project development. The PTC and other tax credits have made the U.S. wind industry the leader in renewable energy. Unfortunately the incentives weren’t renewed this year. But there is good news: owners and developers can take advantage of other incentives that also promote industry growth.…
Energy Department invests $20 million to advance hydrogen production and delivery technologies
The Energy Department recently announced $20 million for ten new research and development projects that will advance hydrogen production and delivery technologies. Developing technologies that can economically produce and deliver hydrogen to power fuel cells from diverse, domestic, and renewable resources can enable substantial reductions in energy use and carbon emissions. Advancing these technologies will…
Report update: Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid
This executive summary and introduction is from a 52 page, U.S. DOE report on large power transformers and the U.S. electric grid. This study updates the initial June 2012 study under the same title, Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid. In this report, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department…
DOE give $47 million to each of three offshore sites
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected of three pioneering offshore wind demonstrations to receive up to $47 million each over the next four years to deploy innovative, grid-connected systems in federal and state waters by 2017. These projects – located off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia – will help speed the…