07/18/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/18/2024 10:42
A new crop of Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) award selections will benefit farmers and small rural businesses by focusing on how to remove market barriers to distributed wind turbine deployment in agricultural settings.
Through CIP, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to award $3.2 million to 12 American component suppliers and manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbines for 13 new projects. Targeting rural agriculture markets, the 2024 CIP selections support the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DOE's new Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) initiative, which supports distributed wind as part of the White House's clean energy goals.
Managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on behalf of DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) since 2012, CIP is designed to make distributed wind energy technologies more cost competitive, reliable, grid compatible, and accessible. In addition, CIP projects advance innovations that enable distributed wind energy technologies to be used in emerging distributed generation markets.
"By funding the development of wind energy technologies that increase cost savings and revenue-generation opportunities for rural small businesses and farmers, CIP is helping tap the potential for distributed wind energy within America's agricultural communities," said Brent Summerville, NREL distributed wind energy researcher and CIP program lead. Distributed wind energy is used at or near where it is generated.
According to NREL's 2022 Distributed Wind Futures Study, the United States has the potential to profitably deploy nearly 1,400 gigawatts of distributed wind energy capacity-more than half the nation's current annual electricity consumption. Agricultural lands in the Midwest and heartland make up 70% of this potential.
Since 2012, the Competitiveness Improvement Project has provided $18.5 million in DOE funding and leveraged $11.2 million in additional private sector investment to 30 companies. The 2024 selections target rural agriculture markets in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy's new Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) initiative. Photo from Pecos Wind Power"CIP advances distributed wind technology to ensure that distributed energy consumers have options that are certified for performance and quality," Summerville said. "CIP also strengthens distributed wind technology commercialization, market expansion, and deployment while supporting partnerships among distributed wind developers, farm groups, and agribusinesses."
Companies selected to receive 2024 CIP awards will now enter negotiations with NREL to receive cost-shared subcontracts and technical support. Selected companies include several former CIP awardees and some that are new to the program: A manufacturer of a 1-megawatt (MW) wind turbine (the largest turbine that can qualify for CIP funding), a vertical-axis wind turbine manufacturer, and an Alaska-based developer.
Once the 2024 contracts are finalized, NREL will have awarded 77 subcontracts to 30 companies, totaling $18.5 million in DOE funding while leveraging $11.2 million in additional private sector investment since CIP began in 2012.
The 2024 award categories and selections are:
Designed to determine the commercial readiness of a prototype wind turbine system, these projects confirm turbine designs or improvements that are ready for certification testing.
These projects help manufacturers of turbines up to 150-kW peak power pursue certification to ANSI/ACP 101-1-2021: The Small Wind Turbine Standard or listing of the turbine assembly or component(s) to applicable electrical safety standards.
These projects help manufacturers of turbines up to 1-MW rated power seek type certification through the International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications (IECRE) or list turbine assembly or component(s) to applicable electrical safety standards.
These projects address the need for listed inverters built and tested specifically for small- and medium-scale wind turbines.
These projects support designing, building, and validating improved manufacturing processes for a defined production of a wind turbine, leading to a reduced levelized cost of energy.
Focused specifically on rural and agricultural market opportunities identified in NREL's 2022 Distributed Wind Futures Study, these projects address cost barriers to commercialization and rapid, large-scale deployment of improved distributed wind energy technology.
"Commercialization efforts by Siva Powers America, EWT Americas, and Intelligent Energy Systems, in addition to active CIP projects by Bergey Windpower and Eocycle, will open new markets for distributed wind turbines and help support the RAISE initiative goals for rural small businesses and farmers," Summerville said.
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