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DOE OSTI2022

2021 Prototype Design Development Awardee: Accelerate Wind, Inc.

In the United States, rooftop photovoltaic systems can be installed on most commercial buildings. However, even if all available rooftop space is used, solar energy cannot satisfy the building's total energy demand. With many building owners trying to move toward net-zero-carbon-emission energy generation, these customers often have no way to achieve this goal on-site. Rooftop wind energy technology could be an option, but most rooftop wind turbines are not economically viable because they do not produce meaningful amounts of energy and are not likely to pay for themselves within their lifetime. Some rooftop wind turbine companies have attempted to exploit the fact that wind naturally speeds up at the edge of a roof; but, so far, these solutions have also struggled to produce significant energy because only a small portion of that wind can be captured so close to the edge of the roof.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Prototype Design Development Awardee: RRD Engineering

The innovative BladeRunner distributed wind turbine concept from RRD Engineering will address the need for dependable, efficient, and affordable midsize turbines to power operations in the commercial, industrial, agricultural, military, governmental, and institutional sectors. The inventive design funded by this Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) award reduces LCOE by using materials and components that cost and weigh less than those found in conventional turbines, while delivering savings related to manufacturing and maintenance requirements.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Small Turbine Certification Awardee: Ryse Energy LLC - Americas

To meet the growing demands of the distributed wind market and comply with current U.S. standards, Ryse Energy LLC-Americas (Ryse Energy, formerly Primus Wind Power) plans to update all six products in its AIR Range family of micro wind turbines. A new, more cost-effective circuit board will be paired with other hardware upgrades, advanced control algorithms, and a Bluetooth function that allows users to more easily program and control the turbine. This Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) award will fund certification testing of the new circuit board to make sure it meets American National Standards Institute/American Clean Power Association (ANSI/ACP) and UL Federal Communications Commission (FCC) safety and quality standards. Primus Wind Power developed the prototype for the new circuit board with an earlier round of CIP funding, and Primus has received CIP awards supporting other certification and optimization projects.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2021

2020 Small Wind Turbine Certification Awardee: Star Wind Turbines

With support from the Competitiveness Improvement Project's Small Turbine Certification Award, Star Wind Turbines aims to earn third-party certification for their small wind turbine model STAR74-6. Certification will help instill public confidence in the product's performance and safety standards. This fact sheet provides an overview of Star Wind's project, how the company will achieve the goals of the award, and how the project fits within the overall Competitiveness Improvement Project.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Project Commercialization and Market Development Awardee: Eocycle America Corporation

Annually, agriculture and related industries contribute approximately $1.2 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product and 11% of the nation's output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, agribusiness operations account for about 30% of energy use worldwide. Distributed wind energy produced on site can power large-scale agricultural, industrial, and commercial operations in windy rural areas, offering cost savings, GHG emissions reductions, and the potential to supply excess electricity to the grid. Despite these benefits, agribusinesses have been slow to embrace the technology. Eocycle America Corporation (Eocycle) plans to develop partnerships with agriculture and related industries and implement a marketing strategy to educate corporate customers about the benefits of distributed wind. Through the CIP initiative, Eocycle will create a marketing plan to raise interest in distributed wind energy among large American and European corporations with operations in rural areas. Campaign goals are to encourage rapid deployment of distributed wind energy on a large scale, as well as to create high-paying energy sector jobs through increased manufacturing, sales, maintenance, and related services. Eocycle plans to identify 15 agriculture-related corporations with the potential for at least 25 turbine sales each.

Competitiveness Improvement Project↗
DOE OSTI2024

2022 System Optimization Awardee: XFlow Energy Company

Vertical-axis wind turbines offer several cost-saving advantages over traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines, including lower blade manufacturing costs and a simpler mechanical design. Unfortunately, until now, vertical configurations have not been able to match the power production and durability of more conventional horizontal-axis models. XFlow Energy Company (XFlow Energy) plans to improve the design and reduce the production costs of its 25-kilowatt (kW) vertical-axis wind turbine, delivering a levelized cost of energy that is competitive with that of U.S. retail electricity generated by coal-fired power plants. XFlow Energy's efficient turbine also is designed to maximize power production and longevity. Two previous Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) awards funded XFlow Energy's development of a 10-meter vertical-axis turbine prototype.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2022

2021 Component Innovation Awardee: Siva Powers America

Siva Powers America earned a Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) Component Innovation award that will enable the company to evolve its 250/50 wind turbine design, discontinue its existing 13.4-meter wind turbine blades, and develop new 14.4-meter blades. These longer blades, which have additional extenders at the hub, will increase the rotor diameter to 35 meters, allowing for improved energy production at sites with lower wind resources. A collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) includes a redesign, build, and on-site structural test for the new prototype blades. This will ultimately allow Siva Powers America to pursue recertification of the SIVA 250/50 to meet international standards.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Component Innovation Awardee: Carter Wind Turbines

Carter Wind Turbines will develop a competitively priced, portable, ultra-lightweight, self-erecting turbine that will expand the viability of wind energy systems for commercial and residential customers in areas far from population centers. The new turbine is a taller version of the Carter Model 300, which was developed with funding from previous Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) awards. Compared to conventional turbines, the new assembly is cheaper to ship, can be erected in one day without any cranes or heavy excavation equipment, and is compatible with the wide range of grid configurations and site conditions found in remote areas.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2024

2022 Component Innovation Awardee: Windurance

Combining battery energy storage with distributed wind energy systems can increase production, ability to meet local electricity demands, interconnection capacity, and potential sales of surplus energy back to the grid, while reducing demand charges and the overall levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Energy storage options for distributed wind energy systems can vary widely in terms of power level and energy storage capacity, and their potential benefits depend on factors including wind resource, turbine design, connection requirements, use patterns, utility rates, and regulations. Windurance received a 2022 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) funding award to add battery energy storage capabilities to the company's bidirectional DC converter. The energy storage component will complete a comprehensive portfolio of power conversion and control electronics that can be seamlessly integrated with distributed wind systems. The company received earlier CIP awards to fund prototype design and construction of wind turbine pitch actuators, inverters, and controllers.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2022

2021 Small Turbine Certification Awardee: Intergrid LLC

Currently, there are no U.S., fully certified inverters for wind turbines in the 10-15-kilowatt (kW) range. The federal government's Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) and Small Business Innovation Research programs present the most viable paths for manufacturers in the distributed wind energy industry to conduct research, develop their products, and, ultimately, commercialize them. Through CIP, Intergrid LLC is reducing the cost, size, and weight of its legacy inverter for distributed wind turbines while increasing efficiency, reliability, and serviceability. To accomplish this, Intergrid will address three areas related to power electronics for distributed wind turbines: (1) Software verification and functional safety certification; (2) Simulation for grid-interconnecting testing; (3) Component alternatives that reduce cost and improve reliability and serviceability. The first two areas relate to long-term management of inverter software, which, for grid-connected inverters, must comply with three standards - one issued by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and two issued by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Prototype Installation and Testing Awardee: Windward Engineering

The 60-kilowatt (kW) Zephyr 21/60 wind turbine from Windward Engineering uses a low-cost, full-span independent pitch system that can act as a redundant aerodynamic braking system. This design uses a relatively simple pneumatic rotary vane actuator, allowing each of the turbine's three blades to be pitched independently and any single blade to activate emergency braking for the entire turbine. A previous Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) funding award enabled Windward Engineering to design and develop the Zephyr 21/60 wind turbine's aeroelastic model and pitch system. At the end of this current Competitiveness Improvement Project award, a fully validated aeroelastic model will make it possible to certify Windward Engineering's Zephyr 21/60 design and quantify the technology's levelized cost of energy in preparation for certification and entry into the distributed wind market. The Zephyr 21/60 will feature an attractive levelized cost of energy, improved reliability, and a full-span pitch system for safe and redundant protection against rotor overspeed (which occurs when the rotor turns beyond its design limit).

CIP↗
DOE OSTI2023

Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP)

Through the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), the U.S. DOE supports small businesses who design and manufacture small or medium wind turbine technology through cost-shared subcontracts awarded via a competitive process. The goals of the CIP are to: improve cost competitiveness with other distributed generation technology through optimized designs and advanced manufacturing processes; increase the number of certified small and medium wind turbine designs across a wide range of sizes; and accelerate deployment of improved, certified distributed wind energy technology. NREL manages the projects through a defined period of performance subcontract, providing technical monitoring and coordinating technical assistance from DOE labs.

advanced manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2023

Distributed Wind Aeroelastic Modeling (dWAM)

Aeroelastic modeling is the primary method for the structural and performance assessment of any wind turbine. These tools provide an understanding of the impact of design parameters on turbine loading and power response before operating in the field. Despite these advantages, the use of aeroelastic modeling in the distributed wind energy industry is limited. This project aims to improve the aeroelastic modeling tools for distributed wind turbines to enable the design and certification of optimized turbine technology with a competitive cost of energy.

aeroelastic modeling tools↗
DOE OSTI2020

Southwest Wind Power R&D Test Site Development at the National Wind Technology Center (CRADA CRD-12-00472 Final Report)

Southwest Windpower, Inc. (SWWP) has been designing and distributing small wind turbines for more than 22 years and is the recognized global leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of small wind systems (400-3000 watts). The company has been a pioneer in the development of wind technology and has built and shipped more than 170,000 wind turbines to over 120 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Flagstaff AZ, SWWP has sales representatives in over 88 countries. Applications for SWWP systems include residential homes, commercial properties, micro grids, remote cabins, telecom transmitters, offshore platforms, water pumping and sailboats. In addition, U.S. Department of Defense uses SWWP’s products in Forward Operating Bases (FOB’s), USGS uses them for remote monitoring of glacier movements and the CIA uses them to provide power seismic monitoring. Today, SWWP plans development of new technologies to address distributed energy market needs and become even more aggressive in international markets. This strategy includes extensive Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) activities to improve existing production line into more simple, reliable, and cost-effective wind turbine systems. Important part of such activities is the field testing of the new systems, which should provide: (i) validation of the reliable operation of hardware and software; (ii) validation of numerical models of the system and its components; (iii) field comparison of various control and optimization strategies; (iv) customized reliability testing; (v) customized monitoring and analysis testing; and (vi) IEC certification testing (vii) filed demonstration of system performance and reliability. Such field testing facility should encompass multiple towers and appropriate data acquisition systems. SWWP is exploring to move part of the engineering department to Colorado, and execute its RDD&D strategies in this new location. Partnership with NREL will provide great insights into SWWP’s RDD&D processes and more efficient commercialization by utilizing NWTC as the field testing site, and working close with NREL personnel. NWTC is ideally suited to strain the design. NREL is very experienced with customized and IEC testing. During this project, Southwest Windpower aims to improve the value proposition of distributed renewable energy, and make it a competitive choice in the energy markets. As of today, more then 170,000 small wind turbines, manufactured in the U.S., are installed in more then 180 countries. With the improved value proposition, Southwest Windpower wants to create and address new market needs, substantially increase its sales domestically and internationally, which should have positive impact on the creation of American jobs, competitiveness of U.S. economy, export or U.S. products, and the use of renewable energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2015

Integrated Assessments of the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture: An Overview of AgMIP Regional Research in South Asia

South Asia encompasses a wide and highly varied geographic region, and includes climate zones ranging from the mountainous Himalayan territory to the tropical lowland and coastal zones along alluvial floodplains. The region's climate is dominated by a monsoonal circulation that heralds the arrival of seasonal rainfall, upon which much of the regional agriculture relies. The spatial and temporal distribution of this rainfall is, however, not uniform over the region. Northern South Asia, central India, and the west coast receive much of their rainfall during the southwest monsoon season, between June and September. These rains partly result from the moisture transport accompanying the monsoonal winds, which move in the southwesterly direction from the equatorial Indian Ocean. Regions further south, such as south/southeast India and Sri Lanka, may receive rains from both the southwest monsoon, and also during the northeast monsoon season between October and December (with northeasterly monsoon wind flow and moisture flux), which results in a bi- or multi-modal rainfall distribution. In addition, rainfall across South Asia displays a large amount of intraseasonal and interannual variability. Interannual variability is influenced by many drivers, both natural (e.g., El Ni-Southern Oscillation; ENSO) and man-made (e.g., rising temperatures due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations), and it is challenging to obtaining accurate time-series of annual rainfall, even amongst various observed data products, which display inconsistencies amongst themselves. These climatic and rainfall variations can further complicate South Asia's agricultural and water management. Agriculture employs at least 65 of the workforce in most South Asian countries, and nearly 80 of South Asia's poor inhabit rural areas. Understanding the response of current agricultural production to climate variability and future climate change is of utmost importance in securing food and livelihoods for South Asia's growing population. In order to assess the future of food and livelihood security across South Asia, the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has undertaken integrated climate-crop-economic assessments of the impact of climate change on food security and poverty in South Asia, encompassing Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. AgMIP has funded, on a competitive basis, four South Asian regional research teams (RRTs) and one South Asian coordination team (CT) to undertake climate-crop-economic integrated assessments of food security for many districts in each of these countries, with the goal of characterizing the state of food security and poverty across the region, and projecting how these are subject to change under future climate change conditions.

mountains↗