Wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower Inc. has been selected to join a consortium of industry and academic leaders to help reach the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) goal of achieving 20% wind power nationwide by 2030. The consortium's mission, made possible through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, supports research into advance production of wind-generated energy.Â
Clipper's 2.5 MW Liberty turbine will be the centerpiece of a full-scale field site at the University of Minnesota's UMore Park property in Rosemount, Minn.
The University of Minnesota-led consortium team, which includes public- and private-sector partners in research and education, is supported by grant funding.Â
The consortium's goals are twofold: to create cutting-edge turbine technologies that reduce the cost of wind energy through increased reliability, more durable component parts, and more efficient operations; and to contribute to workforce development and job creation by training graduate and undergraduate students, as well as practicing power-industry professionals across the U.S.
Clipper's Liberty 2.5 MW-C96 turbine will be erected at the UMore Park site. Clipper's integration into the consortium will continue over the summer with several visits by the research team to Clipper headquarters in Carpinteria, Calif., and its manufacturing facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as well as reciprocal visits by Clipper to the UMore Park site and the University of Minnesota. The turbine installation is slated for completion in December.
SOURCE: Clipper Windpower
