Inside US Wind - New Funding Opportunity to Develop Larger Wind Turbine Blades

The Energy Department today 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 of technological innovations to improve the manufacturing, transportation, and assembly of wind turbine blades longer than 60 meters. Larger blades that can be installed on wind turbines with taller hub heights will help facilitate the deployment of the next generation of multi-megawatt wind turbines.

In December 2014, the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory released maps that illustrate the potential for new wind energy resources that developers could unlock using next-generation wind turbine technologies. These taller turbines accompanied by longer blades have the potential to harness wind power resources from more than one million additional square miles of the United States, roughly triple the amount of developable land that was accessible with turbine technology in 2008. This funding opportunity will help mitigate the transportation and logistical constraints associated with larger turbine blades, helping spur wind energy development in areas of the country where wind resources can be accessed at greater heights, especially in the Southeast.

This map shows wind potential capacity for turbine hub heights at 140 meters

This effort to develop larger blades complements the Energy Department’s recent award to two companies that are using innovative construction and installation processes to cost-effectively manufacture taller wind turbine towers. It’s part of the Department’s broader Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, which aims to increase American competitiveness in the production of clean energy products and boost U.S. manufacturing competitiveness across the board by increasing energy productivity. Continued innovation in wind energy technologies and manufacturing will help push the boundaries of renewable energy deployment further than ever before. As quantified in the Energy Department’s new Wind Vision Report, advancing wind power will help the country achieve the economic, environmental, and social benefits of a robust wind energy future.

The Energy Department, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and AWS Truepower provide thewind resource map that shows land-based and offshore resources. This map is the first to provide wind developers and policy makers with a seamless representation of the wind resources estimated at a 100-m height for all 50 states as well as offshore resources up to 50 nautical miles from shore.

Read the full funding opportunity announcement on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Funding Opportunity Exchange.

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