Sandia, Dutch University Sign MOU on Wind Research

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS - Sid Gutierrez, director of Nuclear Energy and Global Security Technologies Center 6700 (left), and Gijs van Kuik, scientific director of Duwind, the wind energy research institute at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at a recent ceremony at Sandia. The MOU will allow Sandia's Wind Energy Technology Dept. 6333 to work closely with the Dutch institution, helping the two entities share knowledge and do joint research. "The wind energy business is truly an international effort," said Jose Zayas, manager of Dept. 6333."That is what makes this agreement important. We are all working on the same issues, and this MOU will allow us to leverage the 30 years of wind expertise of both Sandia and the university." The Netherlands gets 2 percent of its electric power from wind and has a goal to increase that amount to 15-20 percent. The country has two 100-megawatt (MW) wind farms in the North Sea and 1,700 MW in onshore wind farms. Professor van Kuik says onshore and offshore wind farms require different types of turbines. He hopes that this collaboration with Sandia will help both research teams better understand how to build turbines best suited for the sites in which they are installed. (Photo by Lyle Beck)