Distributed (Small) Wind Technology
The Wind and Hydropower Technology Program's distributed wind activities address the performance and reliability challenges associated with smaller turbines by focusing on technology development, testing, and certification. The program's efforts support the deployment of small and mid-sized turbines up to 1 megawatt (MW) for distributed wind applications, including energy generation for homes, businesses, farms, and community wind projects.
Goal
Southwest Windpower 1.8-kW Skystream wind turbine.
Northern Power Systems 100-kW wind turbine.
Windward Engineering 4.2-kW wind turbine.
The goal of the program's distributed wind energy activities is to expand the number of distributed wind turbines (1 kilowatt to 1 Megawatt) deployed in the U.S. market fivefold by 2015, from a 2007 baseline of 2,400 turbines. Activities to support this goal include providing technical support and independent testing of small turbines to ensure that credible and reliable products are available in the U.S. market.
Research Project Highlights
Independent and Testing Activities
The program launched an independent small wind test project in 2007 to help industry provide consumers with more small wind turbine systems certified for safety and performance. The primary objective of this project is to test commercially available small wind turbine systems that have a high probability of success in the U.S. market over the next several years. The availability of reliable small wind turbines will support the program goal of increasing the deployment of small wind turbines installed in the United States.
Prototype Development
The program has worked with several small wind industry partners to develop commercially available, award-winning small wind generation systems. In 2000, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory received an R&D 100 Award for its contribution to the development of the Northern Power Systems NorthWind 100/20 wind turbine. The NorthWind 100/20 wind turbine is a state-of-the-art wind turbine designed for operation in remote, cold-climate conditions. By the end of 2007, 11 of these turbines had been installed and 10 more were sold and awaiting installation. Since then, Northern Power Systems has reconfigured its 100-kilowatt cold weather turbine for agricultural and community applications. Northern Power Systems began testing an improved 100-kilowatt prototype at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2007.
Southwest Windpower has been working with the program for the past several years to develop a 2-kilowatt wind energy generator called the Skystream. In 2006, Southwest Windpower received a Best of What's New Award from Popular Science for its new wind generator, and Skystream was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the "Best Inventions 2006." Since the company began commercial production of the Skystream in 2007, it has sold more than 1,000 units.
The program also worked with Windward Engineering to design and test a 4–kilowatt machine called the Endurance. Windward Engineering began commercial production of Endurance in 2008.