June 16, 2008—The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced partnerships with wind turbine manufacturers as well as several wind technology projects, all with the goal of achieving 20% wind power in the United States by 2030.
DOE is partnering with six leading wind turbine manufacturers over the next 2 years: GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Windpower, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corporation.
DOE and the six will gather and exchange information relating to five major areas: research and development related to turbine reliability and operability; siting strategies for wind power facilities; standards development for turbine certification and universal interconnection of wind turbines; manufacturing advances in design, process automation, and fabrication techniques; and workforce development.
For more information see DOE’s Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program Web site, and the recent report “20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to US Electricity Supply” (PDF file).
In addition, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced a number of wind technology research projects. NREL will partner with the University of Houston, Siemens, and First Wind on projects in Ingleside, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; and West Maui, Hawaii.
