The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released a request for proposals (RFP) under the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) to advance the development of small- and medium-sized wind turbine technology.
The CIP, managed by NREL on behalf of DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, provides cost-shared subcontracts and technical support from national laboratories to US-based component suppliers and manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbines.
The CIP 2025 RFP addresses the evolving needs of the US distributed wind energy sector by prioritising award topics that:
- Promote technology development and innovation to enhance reliability, improve performance, and reduce installed costs
- Develop inverters specifically designed for distributed wind turbines, compliant with national safety and interconnection standards, and capable of supporting grid operations
- Introduce advanced manufacturing processes to cut hardware costs and meet rising demand
- Provide certified wind energy technology options to ensure performance and quality for distributed energy consumers
- Commercialise certified distributed wind technology.
In response to industry feedback, NREL will integrate optional concept papers into the 2025 RFP, allowing applicants to present project concepts and receive preliminary feedback from CIP staff before submitting full proposals.
