SBIR-STTR Award

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) states that wind power will provide 20% of the nation's electricity supply by 2030 and 35% by 2050 (DOE, 2015). The pursuit of these goals will require full utilization of the nationwide economic potential for distributed wind power; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has cited this potential as 48 gigawatts by 2030 and 85 gigawatts by 2050. NREL has also estimated that, prior to capture, the capital cost associated with distributed wind turbine installations must be reduced 52% by 2030 and 71% by 2050 (NREL, 2016). If successful, the technology proposed herein will be a key mechanism in reaching the capital costs required to secure the full potential of distributed wind power in the United States. The proposed Small Business Innovation Research, Phase I effort is to research and develop a novel tilt-up tower and installation system for small-scale distributed wind turbines – an innovation capable of achieving a 12% reduction, approximately $923/kilowatt (kW), in the installed cost of 21-100kW wind turbines. The technology targets two of the most costly aspects of a distributed wind turbine project: tower systems and balance of station (e.g. transportation, assembly, and installation). The technical approach introduces several untested concepts to the small wind industry, including a reusable tilt-up fixture, telescoping tower sections, spiral welded pipe, and tower standardization across turbine makes/models. The Phase I research and development plan will overcome the technical challenges necessary to prove out technical and economic feasibility. If successful, the technical work plan will result in the design and analysis of a tower and installation system for a range of 85-100kW turbine makes/models. Afterwards, a Phase II technical effort will be pursued to conduct a safety, function, and loads test on a full-scale tower system prototype and an operational test with a wind turbine rated between 85-100kW. Together, the Phase I and II efforts will validate the technology and permit the product’s transition to Phase III via four targeted customer demonstration projects in New England, New York State, and Colorado. The proposed product will provide critical cost reductions to support greater, industry-wide competitiveness. The industry-wide cost reductions will thrust the distributed wind industry into a new era of cost-competitiveness and growth. The proliferation of distributed wind power will unlock gigawatts of untapped clean energy potential, accelerate the dominance of domestic small wind turbine manufacturers in global export markets, and create thousands of skilled job opportunities nationwide.

The United States Department of Energy’s Wind Vision Report states that wind power will provide 20% of the nation's electricity supply by 2030 and 35% by 2050. The pursuit of these targets will require full utilization of the nationwide economic potential for distributed wind power; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has cited this potential as 48 gigawatts by 2030 and 85 gigawatts by 2050. It is also estimated that, prior to capture, the capital cost associated with distributed wind turbine installations must be reduced 52% by 2030 and 71% by 2050. In the past, small wind turbines have struggled to reach cost competitiveness in the greater renewable energy marketplace due to, in large part, high support structure costs and a highly variable installation process impacting both cost and quality. The technology proposed herein will provide immediate, industrywide cost reductions that will accelerate the deployment of distributed wind and support the realization of these targets. The Small Business Innovation Research Phase I and Phase II efforts herein aim to validate and demonstrate a novel tiltup tower and installation system – a system poised to deliver a 15%, approximately $1,078/kilowatt, reduction in the installed cost of distributed wind turbines rated 21100 kilowatts. The industrysupported technology introduces standardization and efficiency to two of the largest cost drivers in distributed wind turbine projects: tower systems and balance of station including foundations, transportation, and installation. The patented system leverages three innovations: a standardized pipe tower, a reusable tiltup fixture, and a standardized prefabricated foundation Figure 1. During Phase I, the company successfully established technical feasibility of each innovation and addressed the key technical challenges that have historically discouraged the development and subsequent commercialization of the industryvetted approach. With technical feasibility established, the goal of Phase II is to fabricate and test a fullscale prototype and acquire the technical and commercial validation necessary for customer adoption. After Phase II, the company will be wellpositioned to deploy the first of five Phase III customer demonstration projects for the tiltup tower and installation technology. As an enabling mechanism, the tiltup tower and installation system will thrust the distributed wind industry into a new era of costcompetitiveness and growth. The proliferation of distributed wind power will unlock gigawatts of untapped clean energy potential, accelerate the dominance of domestic manufacturing, and create tens of thousands of skilled job opportunities nationwide.