Large Blade Test Facility (with the University of Houston)

In June 2007 The University of Houston won a Department of Energy, nation-wide contest to build one of two national facilities to test next generation wind turbine blades. UH will receive $2M from DOE to design, construct and operate a research facility capable of testing wind turbine blades up to 100 meters in length. We currently expect that the facility will be located on the Gulf Coast in Ingleside, Texas.  The land was generously donated by BP in April 2009 and will be known as the Texas National Large Wind Turbine Reasearch and Test Center.

The original contract was formally signed between the University of Houston (UH) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in May 2008, known as a Competitive Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). Since that time, the University of Houston has worked hard to build the political support for this initiative at a State and Federal level.  UH wants to ensure and promote industy-wide buy-in and to formalize the network of academic institutions that will be involved in this project. The bulk of this work has been done through The Wind Alliance.

UH is now engaged in a comprehensive technical assessment of the facility to ensure that the design meets the needs of industry. This site optimization is an ongoing process and UH is working with various parties, mainly through the Wind Alliance to achieve this in an optimal fashion.