Energy Center

Paul S. Veers from the Wind Energy Technology Department of Sandia National Laboratories will present a seminar titled "Overview: Wind Energy Technology Fundamentals and Innovation Opportunities" on Thursday, April 8, 2010 from 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in Stewart Center, Room 204.

Wind energy is a growing electricity source around the world, providing over 2% of electrical energy in major economies of the world, including the US, Europe and China. The rapid expansion of wind is largely due to its relative similarity in levelized cost of energy to fossil fuels, while not emitting the pollutants and greenhouse gasses of fossil plants. There is still significant research opportunity to improve both energy performance and system reliability. However, the opportunities are often misunderstood, resulting in investment in options that may have limited potential to facilitate systemic improvement. This talk with start with an overview of wind energy systems and opportunities for improvement. It will then look at reliability status and enhancements. Some initiatives from the DOE wind energy program will be summarized as examples.

Paul Veers is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories where he has worked in the Wind Energy Technology Department for over 20 years. He has conducted research on various aspects of wind systems including atmospheric turbulence simulation, fatigue analysis, reliability, structural dynamics, aeroelastic tailoring of blades, and the evaluation of design requirements. Paul is currently the Chief Editor for Wind Energy, an international journal for progress and applications in wind power. He has a MS in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.