U.S. Distributed Wind Manufacturers Selected to Advance Wind Technologies and Grid Support Capabilities through DOE Competitiveness Improvement Project

Aug. 11, 2020

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with funding from DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, works with dozens of small business across the United States to advance wind technology as a distributed energy resource through the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP). Today, DOE announces eight new CIP projects that will make distributed wind energy more cost competitive, improve its interoperability with other distributed energy resources, and increase the number of small and mid-scale wind turbine designs certified to national testing standards.

Launched in 2013, the CIP supports manufacturers of distributed wind technology—typically small and medium scale wind turbines—through competitively-awarded, cost-shared projects aiming to: 1) optimize designs for increased energy production and grid support; 2) test turbines and components to national standards to verify performance and safety; and 3) develop advanced manufacturing processes to reduce hardware costs. Beyond funding support, awardees can receive technical assistance from NREL to improve their turbine designs and testing plans. Since 2013, NREL has awarded 36 subcontracts to 20 companies, totaling $7.75 million of funding, while leveraging $3.79 million in additional private-sector investment. Today’s selections add $2.6 million in DOE funding, bringing the total DOE commitment to over $10 million, and leveraging over $5 million in industry cost-share.