This article is part 8 of 21st Century Wind Power.
For the past two years, the wind industry has enjoyed record-breaking growth, and industry experts predict that with the extension of the PTC through 2008, the next two years will be record-breakers as well. The challenge for industry is to maintain the [...]
This article is part 6 of 21st Century Wind Power.
Southwest Windpower conducted performance optimization and blade-fatigue tests at the NWTC on its 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 [...]
This article is part 5 of 21st Century Wind Power.
One program R&D project that shows potential for demonstrating a significant increase in overall system performance is the 2.5-MW Liberty wind turbine developed by Clipper Windpower. Clipper completed its prototype in 2005 after only 3 years of R&D. The new machine’s innovative [...]
This article is part 7 of 21st Century Wind Power.
Large Wind Technologies
Although research efforts for the past two decades have led to dramatic reductions in the cost of wind energy, continued incremental improvements to wind turbine performance will lower system costs even further while improving system integration and enhancing technology [...]
This article is part 4 of 21st Century Wind Power.
Systems Integration
The natural variability of the wind resource can present challenges to grid system operators and planners with regard to managing regula-tion, load following, scheduling, line voltage, and reserves. While the current level of wind penetration in the [...]
This article is part 3 of 21st Century Wind Power.
In support of Advanced Energy Initiative objective to expand the use of wind energy, the Wind Energy Program is increasing its efforts to overcome near-term deployment barriers to wind by enhancing public acceptance, promoting supportive public policies, engaging key stakeholders, and addressing [...]
This article is part 2 of 21st Century Wind Power.
The DOE Wind Energy Program is one of 10 clean energy technology programs within the Department of Energy. It is managed by program staff at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its Project Management Center (PMC) in
Golden, Colorado, [...]
This article is part 1 of 21st Century Wind Power.
Wind energy technology has come a long way over the past decade. In 1996, the average utility-scale wind turbine was almost as tall as a 12-story building and it produced enough electricity to power about 125 average American homes. At the time, [...]
No PV system is maintenance-free. Schedule regular inspections of your system to ensure that the wiring and contacts are free from corrosion, the modules are clear of debris, and the mounting equipment has tight fasteners. You should also monitor the power output of your PV modules, the state-of-charge and electrolyte level of your batteries, and [...]
The National Electric Code (NEC) was established in 1897 to ensure safety in all systems that generate, store, transport, and consume electricity. You or the dealer who installs your PV system should be careful to follow NEC’s equipment requirements so that the PV system can be approved by local electric code officials. Be aware that [...]
