July 2008

DOE, Manufacturers Team Up to Promote Wind Energy

And a new report shows rapid growth for the wind power market.

In an effort to promote wind energy in the U.S., the Department of Energy has announced a two-year collaboration with six wind industry turbine manufacturers.

Under the agreement, DOE will work with manufacturers GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Turbine Works, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corp. to define specific needs for achieving 20% wind energy by 2030.

The collaborative effort will address the following areas:

• Turbine Reliability and Operability R&D to create more reliable component; improve turbine capacity factor; and reduce installation and operations and maintenance costs.
• Siting Strategies to address environmental and technical issues, like radar interference, in a standardized framework based on industry best practices.
• Standards Development for turbine certification and universal generator interconnection.
• Manufacturing advances in design, process automation, and fabrication techniques to reduce product-to- product variability and premature failure while increasing the domestic manufacturing base.
• Workforce development, including the development, standardization, and certification of wind energy curricula for mechanical and power systems engineers and community college training programs. 

The announcement of the collaboration came on the heels of DOE's release of its annual report on U.S. wind power. According to the report, U.S. wind power capacity increased by 46% in 2007, with $9 billion invested in U.S. wind plants in 2007 alone, making the U.S. the fastest-growing wind power market in the world for the third straight year.

The report also showed that wind is on a path to becoming a significant contributor to the U.S. power mix. Wind projects accounted for 35% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2007, and transmission facilities capable of generating over 200 gigawatts of wind power are in the early stages of development throughout the nation.

Market growth has also spurred manufacturing investments in the U.S. Several major foreign wind turbine manufacturers either opened or announced new U.S. wind turbine manufacturing plants in 2007, according to the report. New and existing U.S.-based manufacturers also either initiated or scaled-up production. All told, the new turbine and component manufacturing facilities opened or announced in 2007 could create more than 4,700 new jobs in the U.S.

Wind is the second largest source of new power generation in the nation, surpassed only by natural gas.
 
20% Wind Scenario
In May, the U.S. Department of Energy released a report examining the feasibility of using wind power to provide up to 20% of the country's total electricity needs by 2030. The report outlines a potential scenario to boost wind electric generation from its current production of 16.8 gigawatts to 304 gigawatts by 2030. 

Some of the anticipated effects:

• Environment: Avoids air pollution, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces water use in electricity generation. Reduces electric sector CO2 emissions by 825 million metric tons;
• U.S. energy security: Diversifies the nation's electricity portfolio and represents an indigenous energy source with stable prices not subject to fuel volatility;
• Local economics: Creates new income source for rural landowners and tax revenues for local communities in wind development areas;
• American workers: Generates well-paying jobs in sectors that support wind development, such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, transportation, and financial services.  

Major challenges to address:

• Investment in the nation's transmission system so the power generated is delivered to urban centers that need the increased supply;
• Larger electric load balancing areas, in tandem with better regional planning, so that regions can depend on a diversity of generation sources, including wind power;
• Continued reduction in wind capital cost and improvement in turbine performance through technology advancement and improved manufacturing capabilities; and
• Attending to potential concerns about local siting, wildlife, and environmental issues within the context of generating electricity.  

Adapted from the U.S. Department of Energy report 20% Wind Energy by 2030.