Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Power Authority and SUNY Polytechnic Institute have signed an agreement to create a world-class facility devoted to energy technology innovation and the rapid deployment of smart-grid technology to modernize New York’s electric grid. The facility, to be called the Advanced Grid Innovation Laboratory for Energy (AGILe)…
Sad sign of the times: Vestas closing R&D facilities
Editor’s note: These plant closings are not restricted to the U.S. but include China, Denmark, and Singapore. This would be indicative of a worldwide slowdown in wind developments. And my suspicion: the company will lean a bit more on the R&D provided by capable government organizations such as NREL in the U.S. and Risø in…
A grave R&D gap in U.S.
By Norm Augustine, American Security Project America is in grave danger of losing its edge. For over one hundred years, American leadership in science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing has been unrivaled. It has created for us not only one of the highest standards of living any civilization has ever achieved, but also brought American preeminence…
DOE picks 6 projects for R&D funding
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu says six projects have been selected to receive nearly $7.5 million over two years to advance next-generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains. These R&D projects will focus on reducing the cost of wind energy by increasing component reliability or redesigning drivetrains to eliminate need for some components altogether. Each project…
Call for reform to energy R&D
According to report from issued by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) “must go beyond best practices in merit review to the adopt a set of best practices in human resources, procurement, contracting, public-private cooperation, and technology transfer that…