Work With Us
Partners and collaborators can take full advantage of NREL's Flatirons Campus facilities, research and development capabilities, and National Wind Technology Center experts to get the support they need.
In addition to state-of-the-art wind energy research, NREL provides a unique environment to assess the development of hybrid energy systems and grid integration work. Photo by Josh Bauer, NREL
Flexibility informs how government-industry collaborations take place at the Flatirons Campus—home of the National Wind Technology Center.
NREL and the National Wind Technology Center have an outstanding performance record for working with the wind energy industry to advance wind energy science and lower the cost of wind-generated electricity.
Companies partner with NREL when they have specific design challenges, wish to cost-share development of state-of-the-art wind energy technology, and want to document their wind turbine component's performance for certification.
Our Capabilities
Explore a summary of NREL's world-class wind research and development capabilities and technical expertise.
Learn more about each research area and reach out to the contact via the respective research pages.
NREL's distributed wind research capabilities span the innovation pipeline, including design, modeling, simulation, resource characterization, analysis, and manufacturing. Companies can take full advantage of our facilities, research and development capabilities, and world-class experts to get the support they need. Our work also supports the U.S. Department of Energy's efforts to reduce installed costs, increase the domestic market-ready technologies through certification evaluation, and improve performance and systems integration.
Our R&D includes advanced controls research, deployable wind systems for defense and disaster applications, infrastructure for microgrid and hybrid power research, national and international standards development, performance assessment tools, and stakeholder engagement and outreach.
Highlighted Projects
Competitiveness Improvement Project
Distributed Wind Energy Futures Study
Distributed Wind Aeroelastic Modeling
Defense and Disaster Deployable Turbine Project (Completed)
Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (Completed—view the final report.)
Contact
The lead for distributed wind energy research at NREL focuses on a variety of areas pertinent to the diverse distributed wind industry, including modeling and simulation, siting, resource characterization, and technology development. Reach out to Ian Baring-Gould, Manager, Technology Deployment.
NREL works with academia and industry partners to develop more cost-effective and grid-friendly wind power plants across the United States. Companies can take full advantage of our facilities, research and development capabilities, and world-class experts to get the support they need. Our team of engineers and analysts also work with the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on cutting-edge research projects that enable optimized wind plants, advanced manufacturing strategies, ultra-large rotor technologies, seamless interconnection, and much more.
Our R&D focuses on meso- and micro-scale model development and validation; high-fidelity modeling of wind turbines and plants using high-performance computing; rotor wake measurements and prediction for validation, advanced flow control science for wind plants, including enabling autonomous wind plants through consensus control; systems engineering and optimization of next-generation wind turbines and plants; national and international standards development; advanced components, reliability, and manufacturing research; wind turbine drivetrain reliability; hybrid energy systems research and grid integration.
- Development of offshore wind national and international standards
- Resource characterization and forecasting
- Modeling and validation for next-generation offshore wind turbine and plant technologies
- Systems engineering and optimization of next-generation floating wind turbines, mooring systems, support structures
- High-fidelity modeling using high-performance computing
- Wind farm flow controls
- Structural health monitoring
- Stakeholder engagement and workforce training
- Evaluation and development of technical solutions to environmental and siting challenges associated with U.S. offshore wind energy development
Highlighted Projects
International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Wind)
Contact
The lead for land-based wind energy research at NREL focuses on a variety of areas pertinent to the evolving wind energy industry, including modeling and simulation, technology research validation and certification, and controls and reliability. Reach out to Patrick Moriarty, Wind Energy Systems Group Manager.
Partner With Us
NREL offers a variety of ways for organizations to gain access to National Wind Technology Center research expertise:
Partner with us through technology partnership agreements.
Participate in subcontracted wind research through solicitations and requests for proposals.
Use our cutting-edge research facilities to develop, test, and evaluate wind technologies.
License Our Technology
License our technologies with licensing agreements.
See what technologies are available for licensing on the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Innovation Portal.
Contact Us
Join Our Team
Find an opportunity: Job | Internship | Post Doc | Director's Postdoctoral Fellowship
Plan Your Visit
NREL's Flatirons Campus, home of the National Wind Technology Center, is about 5 miles south of Boulder, Colorado. The cities of Louisville and Broomfield are nearby. The Flatirons Campus is approximately 37 miles northwest of Denver International Airport.
Please note that the Flatirons Campus is not located at the main NREL facility in Golden, Colorado; it is approximately 25 miles north of Golden.
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Last Updated June 18, 2025