Wind Energy

Wind Energy

The Grid Simulation Laboratory (GSL) in the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory ( EECL) studies the implementation of wind energy within the electric grid, largely through a collaboration with Spirae Inc., a privately held company based in Fort Collins. With the ability to connect to the grid and export up to 400kW of power, GSL enables Spirae and the EECL to develop technologies to help integrate renewable and distributed power into the electric grid.

 

Wind Engineering and Fluids Laboratory (WEFL)

The Wind Engineering and Fluids Laboratory (WEFL), formerly the Fluid Dynamics and Diffusion Laboratory, has been the center of excellence for fundamental and applied research in wind engineering and fluid dynamics for more than 40 years. It’s one of the international laboratories where the foundations of wind engineering were established. Determination and mitigation of wind effects on buildings and structures as well as dispersion of pollutants, using boundary-layer wind tunnels, are the main thrust areas of research and service activities at the laboratory.

 

Wind Turbines

A research group in Computer Science is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center to apply reinforcement learning to wind turbines as they transition between different modes of operation during wind speed fluctuations.