U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that six wind energy projects have been selected to receive nearly $7.5 million over two years. The funding will be used to advance next-generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains. Drivetrains, which include a turbine's gearbox and generator, are at the heart of the turbine and are responsible for producing electricity from the rotation of the blades.
Chu claims the advances in drivetrain technologies supported through these research and development projects will help the U.S. maintain its position as a global leader in wind energy technologies and support thousands of American manufacturing, construction and planning jobs.
"Developing innovative drivetrain technologies will allow U.S. manufacturers to build larger, more cost-effective, and more efficient wind turbines than any in operation today," says Secretary Chu. "The projects announced today will help the United States to lead the global wind energy industry in this critical technology area, diversify our domestic energy portfolio, and create new jobs for American workers."
The projects, which are located in California, Colorado, Florida and New York Each, have been selected to receive up to $700,000 to conduct technology cost and readiness assessments during early construction. Following early construction funding period, several of the projects will be selected for award of up to an additional $2 million for continued construction.
The awards will be issued through DOE's Wind and Water Power Program, which works to research, test, develop, and deploy innovative wind energy technologies.
Below are the list of projects and their locations:
Advanced Magnet Lab (Palm Bay, Florida)
Boulder Wind Power (Boulder, Colorado) Clipper Windpower (Carpinteria, California)
Dehlsen Associates, LLC (Santa Barbara, California)
GE Global Research (Niskayuna, New York)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado)
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