The document you are trying to access has been updated. Click the button below to access the most recent version.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Wind Partnerships for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) project sought to advance wind turbine technology by exploring innovative concepts in drivetrain design. A team led by Northern Power Systems (Northern) of Waitsfield, Vermont, was chosen to perform this work under subcontract YCX-1-30209-02. The team set project objectives to identify, design, and test a megawatt (MW)-scale drivetrain with the lowest overall life-cycle cost. The project comprised three phases: Preliminary study of alternative drivetrain designs (Phase I) Detailed design development (Phase II) Proof of concept fabrication and test (Phase III). This report summarizes the results of all three phases of this project. Participants The WindPACT project was conducted under directive from NREL, with active participation from personnel at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at Golden, Colorado. Northern Power Systems, the prime subcontractor, assembled a highly experienced team for the WindPACT project. The following table identifies team members (in bold) and contributing consultants, along with their major roles.

Northern Power Systems completed the Cold Weather Turbine (CWT) project, which was funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under subcontract #XAT-9-29200-01. The project's primary goal is to develop a 100-kW wind turbine suited for deployment in remote villages in cold regions. The contract required testing and certification of the turbine to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-1 international standard through Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The contract also required Northern Power Systems to study design considerations for operation in extreme cold (-80°F at the South Pole, for example). The design was based on the successful proof of concept (POC) turbine (developed under NREL and NASA contracts), considered the prototype turbine that would be refined and manufactured to serve villages in cold regions around the world. 8 Certification Effort .