Utility-Scale Wind Applications
NLR's utility-scale research reduces industry costs through innovative technology development, performance and reliability improvements, integrated system advances, and leading-edge manufacturing solutions.
As an international leader in wind energy R&D, NLR works with academia and industry partners to develop more cost-effective wind power plants across the United States that can integrate with other energy sources to support the grid. Companies can take full advantage of our facilities, research and development capabilities, and world-class experts to get the support they need.
Our team of engineers and analysts also work with the U.S. Department of Energy and other federal offices on cutting-edge research projects that enable optimized wind plants, advanced manufacturing strategies, ultra-large rotor technologies, seamless interconnection, and much more.
Areas of Expertise
Meso- and micro-scale model development and validation
High-fidelity modeling using high-performance computing
Rotor air flow (wake) and resource measurements and prediction
Evaluation and development of technical solutions to environmental and siting challenges
Advanced integration in hybrid and grid systems
Systems engineering and controls for optimization of next-generation wind turbines and plant infrastructure
National and international standards development
Advanced components, security, reliability, and manufacturing research
Wind turbine drivetrain reliability and structural health monitoring
Hybrid energy systems research and grid integration
Workforce training and analysis
Projects
NLR's Aerodynamics of Large Turbines project is working with industry and academia to generate scientific data that can enable the design and development of cost-effective, high-performance large commercial wind turbines.
The American WAKE experimeNt is an international, multi-institutional wind energy field campaign designed to answer the most pressing science questions about how individual wind turbines interact with one another and the atmosphere in a wind farm, gathering observational data from wind farms to validate models and advance operation.
Through international collaborations facilitated by the International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme, researchers are focusing on resource characterization, plant and turbine optimization, techno-economic and market analysis, environmental impact evaluation, energy systems integration, and advanced design tool development.
Contact
The leads for land-based wind energy research at NLR focus on a variety of areas pertinent to the evolving wind energy industry, including modeling and simulation, technology research validation and certification, and controls and reliability.
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Last Updated Jan. 21, 2026