Paul Veers, Senior Research Fellow - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Abstract
Wind energy is anticipated to play a central role in enabling a rapid transition from fossil fuels to a system based largely on renewable power. For wind power to fulfill its expected role as the backbone—providing nearly half of the electrical energy—of a renewable-based, carbon-neutral energy system, critical challenges around design, development, and deployment of land and offshore technologies must be addressed. During the past three years, the wind research community has invested significant effort toward understanding the nature and implications of these challenges and identifying associated gaps. The outcomes of these efforts are summarized in a series of ten articles, some under review by Wind Energy Science (WES) and others planned for submission during the coming months. This presentation explains the genesis, significance, and impacts of these efforts and shows how wind is poised to fill the need, as well as the research needs yet to be fulfilled.
Speaker Biography
Paul Veers is a Senior Research Fellow for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Chief Engineer at NREL’s National Wind Technology Center. For twelve years he was the Chief Editor for international journal Wind Energy. He edited a two-volume book, Wind Energy Modeling and Simulation, published in 2019, covering all aspects of wind plant design. Paul received the EAWE Scientific Award 2016 for his leadership in wind energy, and the NREL Chairman’s Award for sustained research excellence in 2018. He is a Fellow of ASME and a helped establish the North American Wind Energy Academy (NAWEA).