TiltUp Tower and Installation System to Reduce the Cost of Distributed Wind Turbines

The United States Department of Energy’s Wind Vision Report states that wind power will provide 20% of the nation's electricity supply by 2030 and 35% by 2050. The pursuit of these targets will require full utilization of the nationwide economic potential for distributed wind power; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has cited this potential as 48 gigawatts by 2030 and 85 gigawatts by 2050. It is also estimated that, prior to capture, the capital cost associated with distributed wind turbine installations must be reduced 52% by 2030 and 71% by 2050. In the past, small wind turbines have struggled to reach cost competitiveness in the greater renewable energy marketplace due to, in large part, high support structure costs and a highly variable installation process impacting both cost and quality. The technology proposed herein will provide immediate, industrywide cost reductions that will accelerate the deployment of distributed wind and support the realization of these targets. The Small Business Innovation Research Phase I and Phase II efforts herein aim to validate and demonstrate a novel tiltup tower and installation system – a system poised to deliver a 15%, approximately $1,078/kilowatt, reduction in the installed cost of distributed wind turbines rated 21100 kilowatts. The industrysupported technology introduces standardization and efficiency to two of the largest cost drivers in distributed wind turbine projects: tower systems and balance of station including foundations, transportation, and installation. The patented system leverages three innovations: a standardized pipe tower, a reusable tiltup fixture, and a standardized prefabricated foundation Figure 1. During Phase I, the company successfully established technical feasibility of each innovation and addressed the key technical challenges that have historically discouraged the development and subsequent commercialization of the industryvetted approach. With technical feasibility established, the goal of Phase II is to fabricate and test a fullscale prototype and acquire the technical and commercial validation necessary for customer adoption. After Phase II, the company will be wellpositioned to deploy the first of five Phase III customer demonstration projects for the tiltup tower and installation technology. As an enabling mechanism, the tiltup tower and installation system will thrust the distributed wind industry into a new era of costcompetitiveness and growth. The proliferation of distributed wind power will unlock gigawatts of untapped clean energy potential, accelerate the dominance of domestic manufacturing, and create tens of thousands of skilled job opportunities nationwide.