On March 12, 2014 EERE’s Wind Program announced a Notice of Intent to issue a funding opportunity entitled "Technology Incubator for Wind Energy Innovations." This funding opportunity would seek to fund RD investments in technology approaches and solutions that are not currently represented in the Wind Program's existing project portfolio.

As an organization, EERE focuses on achieving aggressive and well-defined mid-to-long term clean energy goals by establishing multi-year plans and roadmaps. By focusing its resources on a limited number of projects that have the “highest probability for success,” EERE ensures that program initiatives are supported at their critical mass, both in terms of dollars and time in an effort to produce the project’s maximum impact. While utilizing this roadmap-based approach is one of EERE’s greatest strengths, it leaves little room for the exploration of new pathways and approaches that can potentially lead to game-changing results.

In an effort to adapt the roadmap approach, this “Incubator” Funding Opportunity Announcement would allow existing Offices and Programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that are not built into their existing MYPPs. The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be “on-ramped” to the future program RD portfolio while mitigating the risk that implementing novel technologies may bring.

This funding opportunity encompasses applications for any and all ideas that have a significant potential to advance the mission of the Wind Program. While all high-impact applications will be considered, the Wind Program has identified the following topics as areas where innovative ideas have significant potential to enhance the program’s goals:

• Novel measurement techniques for turbine-wake measurements
• Systems that enable low-cost energy capture at heights above 500 feet and are scalable to gigawatt-scale deployments
• Low-cost, environmentally-safe, and weather-proof sensor packages that can be deployed for long periods of time on future offshore wind sites
• Innovative, low-cost technologies that enable prognostic system health monitoring and predictive operation and maintenance scheduling for wind power generation equipment.

Read the full Notice of Intent on the Department of Energy’s Funding Opportunity Exchange.

The Wind Program offers two unique ways to stay informed. To receive information regarding financial opportunities and timely news updates, please subscribe to the Wind Program’s Breaking News Alerts. To receive information regarding the Wind Program’s projects, accomplishments, and recent publications, please subscribe to the Wind Program’s Bi-Annual RD Newsletter.