Distributed Wind Energy Technology

Goal

The Wind Energy Program goal for small distributed wind energy systems was to reduce the cost of energy to 10 to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in a Class 3 wind resource from a 2002 baseline of 17 to 22 cents per kWh. In 2007, the program met that goal through collaborative efforts with industry partners that included Southwest Windpower, Windward Engineering, Abundant Renewable Energy and Wetzel Engineering, reducing the cost of electricity produced by residential-sized turbines (10 kW or less) to 9.9 cents per kWh. Working with Distributed Energy Systems (formerly Northern Power Systems),Composite Engineering, Global Energy Concepts, Princeton Power Systems, and TIAX, the program reduced the cost of electricity for business/industrial-sized machines (11 kW to 100 kW) to 10.7 cents per kWh. In 2008, the program is refocusing its efforts on increasing the market for distributed wind systems to meet a growing demand for community-owned projects and local power generation.

2006 Research Project Highlights

The Wind Energy Program continued working with several small wind industry partners in 2006 to develop and test new systems and components. Working with Southwest Windpower, researchers at NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) conducted performance optimization and blade-fatigue tests on the company's new Skystream wind turbine. The 1.8-kW turbine, developed in partnership with DOE, won the Best of What's New Award from Popular Science Magazine and was listed as a best invention for 2006 by Time magazine. The new turbine has fully integrated electrical components, costs less, is easier to install, and more quiet to operate.

Northern Power Systems (NPS) is working with the program to reconfigure its 100-kW cold weather turbine for agricultural and community applications in temperate climates. The company began building the machine in 2006 and will start testing the prototype at the NWTC in 2007. The new machine will cost less to produce and it shows good potential for filling a market gap in mid-sized wind turbines.

As part of its small wind components research, the program worked with Windward Engineering to conduct tests on its 3.75-kW Endurance wind turbine developed to demonstrate a furling control system. Windward's machine is currently being tested at the NWTC to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for duration, power performance, and acoustics.

Another component project completed in 2006 was the Princeton Power Systems 50-kW AC-AC converter. This new component has a higher conversion efficiency and it produces excellent power quality, uses fewer components, and reduces cost.