Wind energy plays an important and growing role in the US energy profile. While other countries have expanded their wind industries into offshore development, large investment costs have hindered progress in the US offshore market despite the larger and more consistent resource available offshore. In this research, I explore the...
Energy from offshore wind could provide substantial power generation if further utilized. One area of significant research focus is in developing floating offshore wind devices, which would allow for wind energy to be gathered in deep water where driven monopile turbines are infeasible. However, floating offshore wind is not currently...
As climate change forces energy policy to incorporate environmental impacts and fuel diversification into the traditional model of energy security, finding ways to site, develop, and deliver renewable energy has taken on increasing importance across the United States. With no consistent federal framework to implement these changes, much of the...
The large wind resource off the United States West Coast has the potential to generate wind power for millions of homes, yet the high cost of energy for offshore wind power compared to traditional sources has slowed the development of offshore wind farms in the US. The four studies presented...
As more wind farms are connected to the grid, the variable nature of wind energy begins to influence grid stability. Energy storage could help smooth the variable nature of wind energy. Laboratory demonstration and exploration of the interaction between different energy storage devices and wind energy could help improve and...
Renewable energy technology continues to grow in popularity as countries aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Land based and offshore wind turbines are one option for expanding renewable energy sources. However, as wind energy adoption increases, so does the need for enhanced monitoring of wind turbines’ potential effect on local...
Bird and bat mortalities caused by interactions with wind turbines is a critical concern that requires addressing for conservation purposes. Deploying a low cost sensor array will be instrumental during site permitting, conducting impact assessments of existing wind farms, and assessing efficacy of wildlife mortality mitigation or wildlife deterrent technologies....
Despite widespread public support for renewable energy development, the siting of wind energy facilities can prove problematic due to opposition from surrounding communities. I propose a unifying framework to explain community response to wind energy development – showing how concepts from environmental sociology related to local biophysical and socioeconomic conditions...
Over the last decade, wind penetration in the Pacific Northwest has increased rapidly. The variable nature of this massive new resource has increased stress on the hydropower resource to the point where system limits are currently being reached. In order to cultivate continued growth of the wind energy industry both...