I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3165 

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

demonstration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2009 

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

on Science 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 2009’’. 

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— 


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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 rotor 

12 blades; 

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

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) advanced computational modeling tools to 

22 improve— 

23 (A) the reliability of aeroelastic simulations 

24 of wind energy systems; and 


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1 (B) understanding of the interaction be2 tween each wind turbine component; 

3 (6) advanced control systems and blade sensors 

4 to improve performance and reliability under a wide 

5 variety of wind conditions; 

6 (7) advanced generators, including— 

7 (A) medium-speed and low-speed genera8 tors; 

9 (B) direct-drive technology; and 

10 (C) the use of advanced magnets in gener11 ator rotors; 

12 (8) wind technology for offshore applications; 

13 (9) methods to assess and mitigate the effects 

14 of wind energy systems on radar and electro15 magnetic fields; and 

16 (10) wind turbines with a maximum electric 

17 power production capacity of 100 kilowatts or less. 

18 SEC. 3. WIND ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

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

20 conduct a wind energy demonstration program. In car21 rying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that— 

22 (1) the program is of sufficient size to measure 

23 wind energy system performance under the full pro24 ductive range of wind conditions in the United 

25 States; 


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1 (2) demonstration projects carried out under 

2 this program are conducted in collaboration with in3 dustry; and 

4 (3) data collected from demonstration projects 

5 carried out under this program is useful for carrying 

6 out section 2(b). 

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

8 the program under this section in compliance with section 

9 988(a) through (d) and section 989 of the Energy Policy 

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

11 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Energy to carry out this Act $200,000,000 for 

14 each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

Æ 


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