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SMART Wind Consortium Publishes Roadmap

In 2014-2016, the Wind Advisors Team worked with eFormative Options to manage the Sustainable Manufacturing, Advanced Research & Technology (SMART) Wind Consortium and develop a consensus-based, shared‐vision Roadmap that identifies common distributed wind research and manufacturing gaps and barriers, prioritizes solutions to those gaps for today and for future scalability, and facilitates a rapid transfer of innovation into American‐manufactured wind turbines.

Managed by the Distributed Wind Energy Association and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia program, the Consortium gathered more than two dozen distributed wind energy equipment manufacturers; 50 other vendors and industry supply chain members; researchers from four federal laboratories; 30 academic stakeholders; and nearly 20 nonprofit organizations, government representatives and other stakeholders. This initiative will open up new market opportunities and expand the number of distributed wind applications, thereby maintaining U.S. global competitiveness and leadership.

Press Coverage
Smart Grid News. May 12, 2016. Distributed Wind Wants Its Share (of the Multi-Trillion Dollar Microgrid Boom)

Utility Dive. May 11, 2016. SMART Wind Roadmap Pinpoints Top Actions to Innovate and Boost U.S.-Led Distributed Wind Manufacturing

SMART Wind Consortium Launch a Success

SMART Wind Consortium Launch meeting in Albany, NY

Albany, New York, October 16, 2014: More than 50 industry, academic, and government representatives gathered to launch the Sustainable Manufacturing Advanced Research and Technology (SMART) Wind Consortium. The Wind Advisors Team provides technical support for the SMART Wind Consortium, which received a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMTech) Program award earlier this year to develop a consensus-based Roadmap for distributed wind. Trudy Forsyth and Ruth Baranowski of the Wind Advisors Team joined team members Jennifer Jenkins from the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA), Heather Rhoads Weaver from eFormative Options, and Brent Summerville from Summerville Wind and Sun to begin the process of developing the Roadmap, which will focus on overcoming manufacturing gaps and barriers to drive down costs and open new market opportunities.

Forsyth and Technical Co-Lead Summerville reported on questionnaire responses provided by nearly 100 Consortium stakeholders, including overviews of products, skillsets, tooling, facilities, vendors, quality assurance, and current challenges of OEM Steering Group member companies. Forsyth and Summerville will facilitate meetings of SMART Wind Subgroups (Mechanical, Electrical, Composites, and Support Structures) during the next few months to guide the SMART Wind roadmapping efforts and help build a stronger U.S. manufacturing base. The meeting schedule is available here.

At the Albany meeting, Baranowski documented ideas and contributions from industry stakeholders attending the event, and the material will be incorporated into the final Roadmap.

Learn more about the NIST AMTech Program:
NIST Awards 19 Advanced Manufacturing Technology Planning Grants

Trudy Forsyth Attends Small Wind Meetings in China

Wind Advisors Team Managing Director Trudy Forsyth traveled to China to attend the International Energy Agency Task 27 Meeting and the third International Conference of Small Wind Association of Testers in Zhangbei. Our colleagues at the Small Wind Certification Council published a summary of the meetings.

Trudy Forsyth (seated fifth from the left) joined her colleagues at the IEA Task 27 Meeting in China in August 2014

Forsyth also joined the Third International Conference of Small Wind Association of Testers in Zhangbei, China