Alternative Energy/Innovations in Wind, Solar and Tidal

Innovation in Wind

• Where in Wind innovation is happening and what is fostering it?

Wind power is a mature technology. The field of onshore wind power has slowed in development and barriers to innovation largely remain at the development stage due to complex public policy and permitting involved with constructing power plants based on wind technologies. The field of offshore is a faster growing and more innovative field than onshore wind. Developments in adjustable blade angle and composite technologies have been crucial to the development of near shore wind. Deep water wind is the most experimental area of wind. Deep water installations take advantage of powerful winds and avoid NIMBY problems but they also require sophisticated moorings which are currently being developed and tested (Walter Musial of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory speaking at the Power of the Gulf Conference June 12, 2008 in Northport, Maine). Another advantage of offshore is that it allows the turbines to be larger due to fewer transportation limits. The larger turbines are more economical. "Reliability problems and turbine shortages have discouraged early boom in development." (Musial, Walter)

The US Department of Energy splits it focus in wind energy research and development between increasing the technical viability of wind systems and increasing the use of wind power in the marketplace. [1] Viability funded research have concentrated on: large wind technology, distributed wind technology, and supporting research and testing. Marketplace funded projects have concentrated on: systems integration and technology acceptance. The US Department of Energy has had some successful results encouraging US companies to innovate using their large wind technology program. [2] GE Wind Energy worked with the US Department of Energy to test components that it developed for its 1.5-MW wind turbine. This has been one of GE Wind Energy's more successful designs. Another project that is demonstrating commercial success is the new 2.5-MW wind turbine manufactured by Clipper Windpower. Clipper Windpower participated in cooperative research and development work with the Wind Energy Program and produced a 2.5-MW wind turbine that is currently on the market. Recent work in distributed wind technology research has helped meet demand for small turbines. [3] The DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory aided testing of consumer wind products. "The strategy of the supporting research and testing effort is to use the research staffs of the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) and Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) to perform wind-technology-specific research targeted to help industry improve the performance of components and fully integrated turbine systems." [4]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the US Department of Energy attempts to balance public and private interests in its technology transfer policies. [5] Some of NREL's wind technologies have been patented and are available for licensing. [6] When a company partners with NREL a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) is used. The agreeement protects the existing intellectual property of both parties and "allows the company to negotiate for an exclusive field-of-use license to subject inventions that arise during the CRADA's execution." [7] The alternative way to partner with NREL is to use a work-for-others (WFO) agreement. This agreement is used for request for technical help from the lab but the project does not rise to the level of joint research.

As a leader in the US, GE Wind Energy is a focus of our investigation of for-profit companies. GE Wind Power promotes five key innovations: variable speed control, unique wind volt-amp-reactive ("WindVAR") technology, low voltage ride-thru technology, advanced electronics, and active damping. [8] Variable speed control allows maximize energy collection while keeping the minimizing the load on the drive train. Unique wind volt-amp-reactive is a "dynamic power conversion system" used to maintain "defined grid voltage levels and power quality." This reducing grid impact of wind, which is a variable input technology.

(Look up GE Wind Investor Data)

   * Learn more about WindVAR technology

BELOW IS FROM GE WEBSITE (TO USE AS A REFERENCE)

Low Voltage Ride-Thru Technology

GE has just taken wind power electronics to the next level of performance. Wind turbines can now, for the first time, remain online and feed reactive power to the electric grid right through major system disturbances. GE's innovative Low Voltage Ride-Thru (LVRT) feature enables wind turbines to meet transmission reliability standards similar to those demanded of thermal generators. LVRT adds significant new resiliency to wind farm operations at the time when more utilities require it.

   * Learn more about Low Voltage Ride-thru technology

Advanced Electronics

Through its advanced electronics, the GE wind turbine's control system continually adjusts the wind turbine's blade pitch angle to enable it to achieve optimum rotational speed and maximum lift-to-drag at each wind speed. This "variable speed" operation maximizes the turbine's ability to remain at the highest level efficiency. In contrast, fixed speed wind turbines only attain peak efficiency at one wind speed. The result: greater annual energy production yield as compared to machines operating at constant speed.

Additionally, while constant speed rotors must be designed to deflect high wind gust loads, GE's variable speed operation enables the loads from the gust to be absorbed and converted to electric power. Generator torque is controlled through the frequency converter. This control strategy allows the turbine rotor to overspeed operation in strong, gusty winds, thereby reducing torque loads in the drivetrain. Our variable speed wind turbine converts the extra energy in wind gusts to electric power. The GE turbine's operating speed range is notably wider than the "slip" range used by other technologies, which produce heat rather than electric power when regulating power in strong, gusty winds. Active Damping

GE's variable speed system also provides active damping of the entire wind turbine system, resulting in considerably less tower oscillation when compared to constant speed wind turbines. Active damping of the machine also limits peak torque, providing greater drivetrain reliability, reduced maintenance cost and longer turbine life.

Innovation in Solar

• Where in Solar innovation is happening and what is fostering it?

Innovation in Tidal

• Where in Tidal innovation is happening and what is fostering it?

Wave energy devices are highly diverse. There are many patents in this area, fewer concepts being tested at the laboratory level, very few working prototypes, and no commercial scale projects in operation, (Malter Musial of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory speaking at the Power of the Gulf Conference June 12, 2008 in Northport, Maine)

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