Realizing the Future in Wind Energy

While wind generating capacity has grown rapidly during the past decade, there is an urgent need for innovative technology advances to enable the wind energy industry to fulfill its promise. The National Wind Resource Center (NWRC) in collaboration with the National Institute of Renewable Energy (NIRE), is embarking on a ground-breaking project that will expand the frontier of wind power technology, taking advantage of the wind corridor.

Our Vision

• Lead the industry, state and nation to achieve the Department of Energy’s goal of 20 percent wind energy integration by 2030
• Enhance research collaboration and technology development by meeting the research and development needs of industry
• Expedite phased construction of the nation’s largest wind research farm and related facilities to aid in prototype development on a variety of research initiatives
• Recruit world-class researchers with expertise in the wind sector
• Position the U.S. as the world’s leader in wind energy research and development
• Enhance the state’s capacity for job creation in the wind energy sector by developing the best-in-class training methods for the emerging workforce

Our Phased Approach

We‘ve created a three-tier approach to help meet the U.S. Department of Energy‘s national vision of 20 percent wind energy utilization by 2030.

Phase

The first phase begins with gathering all the invested partners–both public and private–together. With a focus on research and innovation, NIRE will set the stage for further research from which ll partners can benefit.

Phase

The second phase incorporates the findings from Phase One to finance and construct more sustainable energy facilities.

Phase

Phase Three will be dedicated to building a state-of-the-art large research wind farm to continue much-needed research. This research facility is contingent on the competitive renewable energy zones (CREZ) lines that are scheduled for completion in late 2012 or early 2013.