Siemens Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SI) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) formally commissioned a new 2.3-megawatt (MW) Siemens wind turbine at NREL’s National Wind Technology Center. The turbine is the centerpiece of a multi-year project to study the performance and aerodynamics of a new class of large, land-based machines–in what will be the biggest government-industry research partnership for wind power generation ever undertaken in the U.S.
Under the initial phase of the $14 million research program, Siemens will contribute $9 million, NREL $5 million.
"This important new research program will help us further enhance the performance of our turbines and lower the cost of clean, wind-generated power, which in turn will help diversify the overall mix of power generation sources in the U.S.," said Barry Nicholls, senior vice president of Siemens Energy, Inc.
Under their Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), Siemens and NREL will test basic turbine characteristics and verify new performance enhancing features of the pilot turbine over a minimum of three years–and potentially longer. Testing will include a full range of real-world operating regimens, including severe weather conditions.
Culminating today’s event, NREL Director Dan Arvizu and Nicholls joined Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter in flipping a switch that symbolically commissioned the giant machine, fitted with a 331-foot-diameter rotor, mounted atop a 262-foot tower.
The Siemens 2.3-MW turbine is among the largest land-based turbines deployed in the United States and is the largest at the NWTC site. Planned testing includes structural and performance testing; modal, acoustics and power quality testing; as well as aerodynamic testing and turbine performance enhancements. A new meteorological tower to the west of the Siemens turbine will feature more than 60 instruments to collect the most advanced data available on wind, temperature, dew point, precipitation and other weather features that can influence the performance and lifespan of a wind turbine.
NREL researchers also are interested in the foundations required beneath the ground to support larger wind turbines. NREL and Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES) have entered into a separate but coordinated agreement to study the design and performance of turbine foundations, with goals of increasing the reliability of non-turbine components and reducing turbine installation costs.
Installation of the pilot turbine at the National Wind Technology Center follows Siemens’ decision to locate its own wind power research and development center in nearby Boulder. That office is expected to grow to 40 engineers and other staff by 2013.
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