Alstom announced the company has entered into long-term agreements for coopearation with NIRE (National Institute for Renewable Energy), from Texas, US, and also with NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratories), under US Department of Energy. The newly established partnerships will be exercised in the research and development fields.
Alstom's collaboration with NIRE will result, among other things, in the certification of the company's ECO 86, 1.67 MW wind turbine by the middle of 2011. R&D efforts will be concentrated around technology enhancement, job creation, and preparation of the workforce for the growing wind energy sector.
The partnership with NREL, on the other hand, has a more specific goal – to test and report on the perfomance of Alstom's PURE TORQUE design, a unique rotor support concept which will deliver higher gearbox reliability, better operational reliability, and lower service and maintenance costs. Another result of this collaboration will be the certification of Alstom's ECO 100, 3 MW wind turbine, which should be completed by mid-2011.
