The Leading Edge: December 2024 Wind Energy Newsletter

In this issue, NREL highlights its End of Year Accomplishments Report, updates on costs of wind energy, offshore wind in Washington state, and more.

Upwind: Featured News

Annual Accomplishments Report Highlights Recent Achievements in Wind Energy

NREL just released its Wind Energy Accomplishments and Year-End Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2024, which outlines the most notable achievements in wind energy research at NREL and highlights NREL's role as a global leader in wind energy research and development. The Fiscal Year 2024 report is focused on achievements in the Grand Challenges of Wind Energy, namely, wind atmospheric science, wind turbine systems, wind plants and grid, environmental co-design, and social science.

Behind the Blades

Behind the (Hockey and Turbine) Blades: Suzanne MacDonald Champions Community Solutions for a Brighter Future

Meet Suzanne MacDonald, a hockey mom, clean energy advocate, and stakeholder engagement expert at NREL who blends a passion for community-driven solutions with a love for the game.

Suzanne MacDonald, who manages stakeholder engagement initiatives for NREL's wind energy program, is always looking for opportunities to break down silos, foster cross-sector collaboration, and use people-first practices to maximize the impact of the lab's work. Whether she's collaborating with organizations such as Sea Grant to support coastal communities or helping launch the Regional Navigators Pilot Program, which connects regional organizations with resources to advance clean energy goals, MacDonald works to ensure NREL's efforts are accessible and practical for communities navigating the clean energy transition. Read the full interview and find out how MacDonald helps communities tap into clean energy, builds partnerships to overcome local challenges, and balances it all with her love for hockey.

On the Radar: Project Updates

Study Finds Washington State Could Benefit From Offshore Wind Energy

Three floating offshore wind energy substructure designs (left to right): spar, semisubmersible, and tension-leg platform. Illustration by Josh Bauer, NREL.

In a new study, NREL researchers found that offshore wind energy may be critical for Washington to meet its energy goals, diversify its clean energy generation mix, and cultivate supply chain opportunities in support of a sustainable floating offshore wind energy industry along the West Coast. Although Washington will likely continue to depend on hydropower as a major source of clean energy, the state will need to increase its reliance on other renewable energy resources, such as solar power and wind energy, to keep pace with its citizens' energy needs. The study, which was requested by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, summarizes the feasibility and costs associated with offshore wind energy development in Washington to help the state with its long-term energy planning.

Updated Meteorological Toolkit Fills Gaps in Public Datasets

A team of NREL researchers recently released an updated version of a meteorological modeling tool for wind energy, called the WIND Toolkit Long-Term Ensemble Dataset, or WTK-LED for short. The updated toolkit provides data on wind speed variability and uncertainty for various grid points and seasons. The research team built this new, more robust dataset to fill gaps in publicly available tools and better serve members of the distributed, utility-scale, and emerging airborne wind energy industries. The toolkit also supports researchers from academia and national laboratories who are working in grid integration, power systems, and environmental modeling.

U.S. Manufacturers of Distributed Wind Energy Technology: Get Ready for 2025 Funding Solicitation

NREL has issued a notice of intent under the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), inviting U.S. manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbine technology to develop project ideas and teams in preparation for a 2025 request for proposals.

Since CIP began in 2012, NREL has awarded 77 subcontracts to 30 companies, totaling $18.5 million of U.S. Department of Energy funding, while leveraging $11.2 million in additional private-sector investment. The project is designed to make wind energy cost-competitive with other distributed generation technologies and increase the number of wind turbine designs tested and certified to national standards.

NREL has issued a Competitiveness Improvement Project notice of intent in advance of a 2025 funding solicitation. The project supports manufacturers of distributed wind energy technology, such Eocycle. The Eocycle wind turbine shown here is one of three small-scale distributed wind turbines (15 kW to 100 kW) at NREL’s Flatirons Campus. Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL

Downwind: In Case You Missed It

New Edition of the Cost of Wind Energy Review Charts Lifetime Costs of Power Plants

In November, experts from NREL published the 2024 edition of the Cost of Wind Energy Review, which uses data from existing wind energy projects to estimate what's known as the levelized cost of energy for land-based and offshore wind energy plants (a measure of their overall lifetime costs divided by energy generated). Study results cover everything from the cost of wind turbine components to transporting parts to operational expenditures. This information not only helps meet DOE's annual reporting requirements but can also help developers, researchers, and utilities understand the latest trends in wind energy.

NREL Researchers Share Community Benefits in New Database

Wind energy development can provide a variety of benefits to the communities where energy projects are located and beyond, with benefits coming in many forms—such as tax revenues, supply chain and manufacturing activities, and job creation. Community benefit agreements and related financial and/or nonfinancial investments can also be voluntarily offered by developers to communities impacted by wind energy projects. These can include initiatives, agreements, and contributions designed to deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits to areas near wind farms. With the release of a new database of example community benefit agreements and a guide to community benefits on the Wind Energy Technologies Office's WINDExchange website, NREL researchers are helping communities explore these opportunities and align wind power projects with local needs.

Publications

Cost of Wind Energy Review: 2024 Edition, NREL Technical Report (2024)

Floating Offshore Wind Energy Costs and Considerations for Washington State, NREL Technical Report (2024)

Numerical Modeling and Optimization of the iProTech Pitching Inertial Pump (PIP) Wave Energy Converter, NREL Technical Report (2024)

WETO Software Stack Best Practices, NREL Technical Report (2024)

IEA Wind Task 49: Reference Site Conditions for Floating Wind Arrays, Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2024)

FLOWERS AEP: An Analytical Model for Wind Farm Layout Optimization, Wind Energy (2024)

Mapping and Characterizing the Visual Impacts of the Existing US Wind Turbine Fleet, Applied Energy (2024)

Modeling and Observations of North Atlantic Cyclones: Implications for U.S. Offshore Wind Energy, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (2024)

Overview of Preparation for the American WAKE ExperimeNt (AWAKEN), Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (2024)

Quantification and Assessment of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Measured During the AWAKEN Experiment by a Scanning LiDAR, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (2024)

Supporting Energy Policy Research With Large Language Models: A Case Study in Wind Energy Siting Ordinances, Energy and AI (2024)

News Mentions

New Study Examines the Impacts of Wind Turbines on Our Visual Landscape, CleanTechnica, Nov. 26, 2024

State of the Industry: Offshore Wind – Part 2, SmartBrief, Nov. 19, 2024

Massachusetts Passes Clean Energy Legislation Allowing for 30-Year Offshore Wind Contracts, Utility Dive, Nov. 18, 2024

CEC Floats $38M for Offshore Wind R&D, RTO Insider, Nov. 8, 2024

Revving Up Renewables: U.S. Plans Massive Expansion in Offshore Wind Energy Amid Storm Risks, SciTechDaily, Nov. 3, 2024

Upcoming Events

Floating Wind Solutions Conference 2025
Jan. 15–17, 2025, Houston, Texas
The Floating Wind Solutions Conference and Exhibition will unite key stakeholders within wind and offshore industries to help accelerate the adoption of floating wind energy internationally.

Webinar: Exploring the Potential Environmental Effects of Offshore Wind Energy in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Jan. 23, 2025, Virtual
NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are hosting a free, public webinar that will explore the wind siting and permitting process in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the potential technologies and infrastructure likely to be introduced.

Northwest Offshore Wind Conference 2025
Feb. 19, 2025, Portland, Oregon
The Pacific Ocean Energy Trust is hosting the third annual Northwest Offshore Wind Conference to bring together industry, government, supply chain, and communities to ensure the Pacific Northwest is primed to take advantage of offshore wind opportunities.

American Clean Power Siting & Permitting Conference 2025
April 14–16, 2025, Seattle, Washington
Join experts at the American Clean Power Siting & Permitting Conference to collaborate on challenges, best practices, and solutions to clean energy projects.

ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit
May 22–24, 2025, Dallas, Texas
Join experts at the ARPA-E Innovation Summit to think about America’s energy challenges during a three-day program aimed at moving transformational energy technologies out of the lab and into the market.

Want More?

Subscribe to The Leading Edge newsletter, and explore the latest news and accomplishments in wind energy at NREL.