Midsize Wind Turbine Research
DOE to Invest $6 Million in Midsize Wind Turbine Technology Development 
May 25, 2010
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the availability of up to $6 million to advance midsize wind turbine technology in order to boost the speed and scale of midsize turbine deployment. DOE will provide the funding over two years to accelerate the development, testing, and commercialization of domestically manufactured, midsize wind turbines with rated generating capacities between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt. Through this funding opportunity, DOE will leverage private-sector technology investment by providing cost-shared partnerships to qualified projects in support of the Administration's drive to create clean-energy jobs, and promote economic development and energy independence. DOE anticipates making up to four initial grants under this competitive solicitation. Read the full story.
To facilitate the development and commercialization of midsize wind turbines (turbines with a capacity rating of more than 100 kW up to 1 MW), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NREL launched the Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project.
In 2008, NREL conducted a study that determined that there is a substantial market for midsize wind turbines. One of the most significant barriers to the midsize turbine market is the lack of turbines available for deployment; there are few midsize turbines on the market today.
The objectives of the Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project are to reduce the barriers to wind energy expansion by filling an existing domestic technology gap; facilitate partnerships; accelerate maturation of existing U.S. wind energy businesses; and incorporate process improvement methodologies.
NREL worked with Northern Power Systems to redesign its 100-kW wind turbine.
Facilitate Partnerships
NREL will help DOE facilitate partnerships between wind turbine designers and U.S. manufacturers to redesign turbines to improve product quality, reduce design-cycle time, and develop efficient manufacturing processes.
Accelerate Maturation of U.S. Wind Energy Businesses
DOE and NREL will help accelerate the maturation of existing U.S. wind energy businesses by supporting engineering and manufacturing capabilities that produce more reliable wind turbines that are easier to maintain.
More Information
Read more about NREL's analysis of the economic potential for midsize wind turbines and the applications for midsize wind turbines in these two reports.
The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.
- Analysis of the Technical and Economic Potential for Mid-Scale Distributed Wind (PDF 1.6 MB)
- Distributed Wind Market Applications (PDF 1.5 MB)
You can also read more about the workshops and Webinars hosted by the Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project.
