Wind Energy News
Stay up to date on the latest wind energy research and development news at the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Nov. 21, 2017
A new article by NREL researchers summarizes the first full-scale assessment of operating conditions that may generate white etching cracks in the bearings of wind turbine gearboxes--one of the most common causes of gearbox failure.
Nov. 1, 2017
Increasing the penetration of variable energy sources such as solar and wind energy in the grid without introducing heavy curtailment does not require costly, very-long-duration storage.
Nov. 1, 2017
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently announced six new contracts for Round 5 of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project.
Oct. 30, 2017
NREL research supports emerging offshore wind industry.
Sept. 12, 2017
Research Fellow Bob Thresher likes to venture into the unknown, a quality that spurred his pioneering career at NREL.
Aug. 23, 2017
With science driving wind-technology innovations, the unsubsidized cost of wind energy could drop to 50% of current levels, equivalent to $23/megawatt-hour, by 2030, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Aug. 14, 2017
Bolstered by the nation’s first commercial offshore wind project, the U.S. offshore wind industry could be on the brink of a multigigawatt surge in development.
July 11, 2017
A new NREL survey is designed to determine if the Gulf Coast region can transform 50 years of offshore manufacturing and deployment expertise into a thriving offshore industry
July 10, 2017
Wake steering allows wind power plant operators to turn the front row of turbines out of the wind, which researchers theorize would decrease wake losses and increase overall plant production.
May 17, 2017
Last month, 10 college teams from around the country convened at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2017 Technical Challenge. The participating teams included:
April 11, 2017
On April 11, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a fifth round of Requests for Proposals under DOE’s Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), an annual competitive solicitation through NREL geared to small and mid-sized wind turbines.
March 27, 2017
On Jan. 31, the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Lab welcomed its newest building: the Composites Manufacturing Education and Technology (CoMET) facility.
Feb. 14, 2017
NREL and two industry partners, NextEra Energy, Inc., and YStrategies, Inc., signed a cooperative research and development agreement in December 2016 to bring wake steering, or slight adjustments to turbine direction that reduce wind drag, to industry wind plants for the first time.
Jan. 13, 2017
The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has begun validation work on the first water power technology ever tested in an NREL dynamometer facility.
