The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced on Tuesday that it is seeking proposals from U.S. manufacturers of small and medium-sized wind turbines. This initiative aims to boost access to distributed wind energy technology.
The request for proposals (RFP) is part of the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), which offers up to $2.5 million in funding for manufacturers producing turbines with capacities of less than 1 megawatt. The goal is to support the commercialization and market expansion of distributed wind energy technology.
“Certification and testing costs are often too high for smaller manufacturers like us,” said Chris Connor, a principal engineer at NPS Solutions, a company that received CIP funding. “The DOE’s support is crucial in helping smaller wind turbine manufacturers ensure the safety, quality, and performance of their products.”
The RFP for 2025 offers awards of up to $800,000 for projects in several areas, including prototype design, manufacturing, installation, and testing. Other areas include component innovation, system optimization, small turbine certification, inverter listing, and manufacturing process innovation.
Applicants must submit a product development plan, which should include a development timeline and explain how the project will benefit the U.S. economy and the distributed wind market. Benefits could include increased domestic manufacturing, product deployment, job creation, and improved competitiveness with other energy technologies.
Since its launch in 2012, the CIP has awarded $18.5 million, and this year, maximum award amounts for five of the ten topic areas have been increased to help cover rising costs in turbine manufacturing, testing, and certification.
To streamline the process, applicants can propose follow-up projects in multiple topic areas as part of a phased proposal. For instance, a project could start with prototype manufacturing, move to prototype installation and testing, and then proceed to turbine certification.
NREL emphasized that the CIP is designed to help manufacturers optimize their designs, advance manufacturing processes, and perform necessary testing and certification. The program aims to make it easier for small businesses to navigate the challenges of developing and commercializing wind energy systems.
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