Renewable Energy
Lone Star Wind Alliance
Thanks in part to the organizational support of Good Company Associates, Texas will now be the site of a National Large Wind Turbine Research & Testing Facility. Rapid growth in wind turbine size over the past two decades has outstripped the capacity of blade test facilities at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Boulder, Colorado. In May 2006, the Department announced that it was seeking partners to design, construct and assist in operating one or more new wind turbine blade test facilities capable of testing blades up to at least 70 meters (230 feet) in length. And, in June of 2007, Texas was one of two states that DOE chose for elements of the national wind research and development program.
The motivation for this partnership – known as a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) – is to support the U.S. wind industry's development and deployment of large land-based and offshore wind turbines by providing testing capabilities of sufficient size and availability at a reasonable cost.
In response to the NREL May 2006 announcement, the Lone Star Wind Alliance submitted a proposal to NREL for the National Large Wind Turbine Research & Testing Facility. Five other states – OH, VA, MA, IA and ME – also filed proposals. Texas and Massachusetts were chosen in March to submit final proposals.
The Lone Star Wind Alliance, led by the University of Houston and the Texas General Land Office – possesses world-leading research centers on large composite structures, wind engineering, electromechanical controls and power electronics. The Alliance also includes Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas–Austin, West Texas A&M University, Montana State University, Stanford University, New Mexico State University, Old Dominion University and the Houston Advanced Research Center.
The Alliance enjoys the support of Houston’s world-class offshore engineering industry, as well as the Texas state agencies that have been engaged in the development of wind power in Texas. And, the entire Texas delegation in Washington, DC filed a letter in support of the Alliance’s proposal.
The DOE CRADA presents an excellent opportunity for the state of Texas, which is the wind production capital of the United States, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Texas presently has over 2,700 Megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity – enough electricity for over 600,000 average American homes – and is the only state in the U.S. with signed leases for offshore wind development. Over 500 Megawatts of Texas offshore wind capacity are currently in the early stages of development and resource assessments show that Texas possesses as much as 10 Gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential. The U.S.’s cumulative wind power capacity now stands at 9,971 MW.
On June 25, both Texas and Massachusetts were chosen to host new wind R&D facilities in partnership with DOE. The selection of Texas was undoubtedly a significant achievement. By placing the new large-scale turbine testing facility in Texas, the Lone Star Wind Alliance believes that the state can lead the nation in wind production, offshore wind development and wind power research. This, in turn, will draw equipment manufacturers, wind power companies and service providers to the United States, and specifically Texas, which will generate jobs and revenue for years to come and further the competitiveness of the U.S. wind power industry.
More information can be found at http://www.egr.uh.edu/wind/
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