Northern Power won additional funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue developing modular technology to build 5MW and 8MW wind turbines.
The US$750,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant will allow Northern Power to develop ways to more easily transport and assemble large wind turbines. Large turbines being developed for onshore and offshore power generation can have 200-foot blades and tower heads weighing more than 450 tons, making shipping, installing and maintaining turbines "a serious challenge". A modular design would make it easier to transport turbine components. By providing solutions to the wind industry's current challenges, Northern Power hopes that large-scale wind turbines will make a more significant contribution to meeting America's growing energy needs," Peter Mattila, business development manager for Northern Power, said in a statement.