BIG BIG WIND EXPERIMENT

Gives "blowhard" a whole new meaning...

Gulf vs. East Coast offshore
Kristyn Ecochard, March 13, 2007 (UPI)

- Either Texas or Massachusetts will be home to the new advanced wind turbine blade test facility, the U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently announced…
- A spokesman for NREL said rapid growth in wind turbine size over the past 20 years has outstripped the existing capabilities of the [National Wind Technology Center, near Boulder, Colo.]. It is the only blade-test facility in the United States and so a location capable of full-scale testing of large, megawatt turbine blades is needed.
- The two remaining contenders for the grant will be notified of the final selection around midyear. The Massachusetts proposal was submitted by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development.

- Lone Star Wind Alliance, which is led by the University of Houston and the Texas General Land Office, submitted the Texas proposal. The alliance also includes Texas and West Texas A&M Universities, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas-Austin, Montana and New Mexico State Universities, Old Dominion University and the Houston Advanced Research Center…
- The larger turbine blades will most likely be shipped via waterway…the test site in Colorado isn't accessible…
- Turbine blades of up to 230 feet in length will be able to be tested at the new facility…
- As the United States takes more interest in wind and in the possibility of offshore wind, larger turbine blades and greater quantities of parts are needed…

- In addition to the $2 million from the Energy Department and NREL, $9 million to $12 million in capital is expected to be needed for the facility…
- Those involved in the Texas proposal are confident theirs will be the successful application, partially due to the opposition to the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts. Texas is the largest producer of wind power and home to the first two leases for offshore wind projects…
- Staff from the Energy Department and NREL as well as industry stakeholders will determine the criteria for the next round of the competition…