I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2782 

To provide for a program of wind energy research, development, and 

demonstration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 1, 2011 

Mr. TONKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for a program of wind energy research, 

development, and demonstration, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wind Energy Research 

5 and Development Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WIND ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

9 carry out a program of research and development to— 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2782 IH

1 (1) improve the energy efficiency, reliability, 

2 and capacity of wind turbines; 

3 (2) optimize the design and adaptability of wind 

4 energy systems to the broadest practical range of at5 mospheric conditions; and 

6 (3) reduce the cost of construction, generation, 

7 and maintenance of wind energy systems. 

8 (b) PROGRAM.—The program under this section shall 

9 focus on research and development of— 

10 (1) new materials and designs to make larger, 

11 lighter, less expensive, and more reliable and longer 

12 lifecycle rotor blades; 

13 (2) technologies to improve gearbox perform14 ance, reliability, and lifecycle; 

15 (3) automation, materials, and assembly of 

16 large-scale components to reduce manufacturing 

17 costs; 

18 (4) low-cost transportable towers greater than 

19 100 meters in height to capitalize on improved wind 

20 conditions at higher elevations; 

21 (5) wind technology for offshore applications, 

22 including improvement of analysis, testing, 

23 verification, and certification to reduce up front time 

24 and cost; 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2782 IH

1 (6) advanced computational modeling tools to 

2 improve— 

3 (A) the reliability of aeroelastic simulations 

4 of wind energy systems; 

5 (B) understanding of the interaction be6 tween each wind turbine component; 

7 (C) understanding the loads and lifecycle 

8 of each wind turbine component; 

9 (D) siting of wind energy systems to maxi10 mize efficiency and minimize variable genera11 tion; 

12 (E) integration of wind energy systems 

13 into the existing electric grid to ensure reli14 ability; and 

15 (F) understanding of the wake effect be16 tween upwind and downwind turbine operations; 

17 (7) advanced control systems and blade sensors 

18 to improve performance and reliability under a wide 

19 variety of wind conditions; 

20 (8) advanced generators, including— 

21 (A) automated system and drive train sen22 sors to predict and manage maintenance proc23 ess; 

24 (B) medium-speed and low-speed genera25 tors; 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2782 IH

1 (C) direct-drive technology; and 

2 (D) the use of advanced magnets in gener3 ator rotors; 

4 (9) methods to assess and mitigate the effects 

5 of wind energy systems on radar and electro6 magnetic fields; 

7 (10) technical processes to enable— 

8 (A) scalability of transmission from re9 motely located renewable resource rich areas; 

10 and 

11 (B) optimization of advanced infrastruc12 ture design, including high voltage trans13 mission; and 

14 (11) other research areas as determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 SEC. 3. WIND ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

18 conduct a wind energy demonstration program. In car19 rying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that— 

20 (1) the program is of sufficient size and geo21 graphic diversity to measure wind energy system 

22 performance under the full productive range of wind 

23 conditions in the United States; 

24 (2) demonstration projects carried out under 

25 this program are— 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2782 IH

1 (A) conducted in collaboration with indus2 try and, as appropriate, with academic institu3 tions; and 

4 (B) located in various geographic areas 

5 representing various wind class regimes; and 

6 (3) data collected from demonstration projects 

7 carried out under this program is useful for carrying 

8 out section 2(b). 

9 (b) COST-SHARING.—The Secretary shall carry out 

10 the program under this section in compliance with section 

11 988(a) through (d) and section 989 of the Energy Policy 

12 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(a) through (d) and 16353). 

13 SEC. 4. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. 

14 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary of Energy 

15 shall— 

16 (1) coordinate with the Office of Minority Eco17 nomic Impact and with the Office of Small and Dis18 advantaged Business Utilization; and 

19 (2) provide special consideration to applications 

20 submitted by institutions, businesses, or entities con21 taining majority representation by individuals identi22 fied in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineer23 ing Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 

24 1885b). 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2782 IH

1 SEC. 5. COMPETITIVE AWARDS. 

2 Awards under section 2 and section 3 shall be made 

3 on a competitive basis with an emphasis on technical 

4 merit. 

5 SEC. 6. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION. 

6 To the maximum extent practicable the Secretary of 

7 Energy shall coordinate activities under this Act with 

8 other programs of the Department of Energy and other 

9 Federal research programs. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary of Energy to carry out this Act $200,000,000 for 

13 each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

Æ 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS