The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a USD $1.8 million fund to support companies in the development of next-generation wind turbine blades more than 60 metres in length, research the DOE says is vital to unlocking over one million square-miles of wind energy across the USA.
New maps of wind speeds from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory showing vastly more potential for wind capacity at heights of 140 metres have forced a rethink in turbine design and a focus on building multi-megawatt turbines fitted with rotors 120 metres in diameter.
As of last year, the Energy Department has spent over $160 million in support for projects focused on testing, manufacturing, and component development of next-generation wind turbines.
The DOE says that if these advancements are successful, wind turbines with hub heights up to 140 meters will unlock an additional wind power resource potential across 1,137,565 square miles of the United States, nearly tripling the amount of developable land area compared with 2008 turbine technology.
“I’m happy to report that today, wind energy is at the cusp of cost-parity with other forms of energy that we use widely in our economy,” said Under Secretary for Science and Energy Lynn Orr. “The Department of Energy is prepared to take it all the way to the finish line.”
Latest data contained in the Energy Department’s new Wind Vision Report reveals that funding innovation in the manufacturing, transportation, and assembly of wind turbines with hub heights of over 120 metres, along with bigger and lighter rotor blades, would make wind energy cost-competitive with fossil fuels – and allow wind power to be deployed economically in all 50 states.
“Every year, wind becomes cost competitive in more states, and this wind vision report shows that all 50 states could have utility-scale energy by 2050,” said White House Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Dan Utech. “The United States is uniquely poised to accelerate development of this important resource and technology, and the report will help us continue to build on the strong progress we’ve already made.”
Currently, 4.5 percent of the USA’s annual electricity generation is source from wind power. The wind industry already supports more than 50,000 related jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations and maintenance, and supporting services.
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