The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a third round of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) under the Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP). CIP aims to help U.S. manufacturers of small- and mid-sized wind turbines improve their turbine designs and manufacturing processes in order to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and eventually earn a certification showing they have met performance and safety requirements.
The topics of this latest round of RFPs address component improvements and system optimization, manufacturing process upgrades, turbine certification, and type certification. Proposals are due the week of February 9, 2015. The first two CIP solicitations issued in 2012 and 2013 resulted in subcontracts to Pika Energy for manufacturing process improvements; Bergey Windpower for component improvements; Endurance Power for prototype testing; Northern Power Systems for component improvements; Pika Energy for component improvements and manufacturing process improvements; and Urban Green Energy for certification testing.
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