Wind Energy News
Stay up to date on the latest wind energy research and development news at the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Dec. 26, 2018
The wind industry is booming now that wind generation has become the cheapest source of new power in multiple U.S. markets, even without incentives. And--spoiler alert--early-stage research shows promise for driving down wind power prices even further.
Dec. 21, 2018
Ian Baring-Gould has traveled the globe for NREL, helping communities. He is amazed at the progress of renewables, particularly wind, over the past few decades.
Dec. 19, 2018
The German Aerospace Center has partnered with NREL to investigate how well rotor blades designed with bending-torsion coupling handle strongly variable wind speeds.
Dec. 13, 2018
New National Science Foundation and Department of Energy-funded research highlights a previously unexplored consequence of the global proliferation of wind energy facilities: a wake effect from upwind facilities that can reduce the energy production of their downwind neighbors.
Dec. 4, 2018
NREL and partners have created a new blade-resolved model of a large modern wind turbine, enabling scientists and engineers to begin understanding the complex flow physics in multi-turbine wind farms that will take advantage of future exascale modeling and simulation capability.
Nov. 7, 2018
WISDEM--an acronym for Wind Plant Integrated Systems Design and Engineering Model--is open-source software that answers the "what if" questions.
Nov. 5, 2018
The REopt Lite web tool's new wind optimization module lets building owners and energy managers evaluate the economic viability of grid-connected wind at a site, in addition to solar photovoltaics and battery storage.
Sept. 28, 2018
New grid integration technologies at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) have introduced a vast range in grid research capabilities--from multimegawatt-scale wind and solar technologies to advanced energy storage devices, transformers, and protection equipment.
Aug. 23, 2018
New state-level commitments, advances in permitting and energy offtake processes, and strategic research investments buoyed the U.S. offshore wind market in 2017. The offshore wind project development pipeline in the United States includes 25,464 megawatts (MW) of planned generating capacity as of June 2018, with projects representing 2,000 MW expected to commence commercial operation by 2023.
May 17, 2018
The conclusion of a successful multiyear industry partnership will soon alter the landscape for Denver-area residents. This week, GE will remove the largest of the megawatt-scale research turbines at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), located near Boulder, Colorado.
May 8, 2018
A massive amount of wind data was recently made accessible online, greatly expanding the amount of information available on wind flow across the continental United States.
April 4, 2018
Looking out over the "living laboratory" of NREL's campus, Senior Wildlife Biologist Tom Ryon sees a tapestry that others may not. Everywhere he goes, he can't avoid interactions with nature. Nor does he want to.
March 13, 2018
NREL will evaluate a pioneering bend-twist rotor concept at the National Wind Technology Center
Jan. 31, 2018
More than 90 people--including over 50 industry attendees, in addition to laboratory and DOE representatives--attended the Wind Industry Partnership Summit, held January 24-25 in Washington, D.C.
Jan. 26, 2018
NREL researchers recently released an updated open-source version of FLOw Redirection and Induction in Steady State (FLORIS), a set of controls and optimization tools for wind farm control.
Jan. 15, 2018
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently installed a new gearbox and main bearing in the U.S. Department of Energy-owned General Electric 1.5-megawatt SLE turbine.
Jan. 11, 2018
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected two projects to receive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded Technology Development and Innovation (TD&I) subcontracts. These awards provide recipients access to NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) facilities and expertise in support of projects involving the research and development of early-stage wind-wildlife impact minimization technologies.
Jan. 9, 2018
Four agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), hosted two workshops that led to a new report where the teams identified areas of importance for modeling variable renewable energy, performed experiments to determine key assumptions, and compiled a set of recommendations for future research in this area.
Jan. 8, 2018
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is spearheading the Electrification Futures Study, a research collaboration to explore the impacts of widespread electrification in all U.S. economic sectors--commercial and residential buildings, transportation, and industry.
