The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Wind Energy Center during its meeting Friday (March 26).
The center, which will be part of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), is being established with the vision to position Texas A&M Engineering and the State of Texas as global authorities on all facets of wind energy, including major advances in research, technology development, and technology demonstration and deployment, along with innovative educational advances related to wind energy.
According to The Energy Report of 2008 by Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, wind energy is among the world’s fastest growing sources of energy. Wind energy is expected to be a key growth area, particularly in Texas.
The Wind Energy Center will be established as one at least five planned energy-type specific research centers within the Energy Engineering Institute, which is also a center within TEES. The center will also examine economic and policy implications related to wind energy production, particularly as it relates to the placement of wind turbines, both on and off shore.
Under the comprehensive energy umbrella of the Energy Engineering Institute, the Wind Energy Center will align its wind energy research activities with the other research focus areas of the Energy Engineering Institute to create robust and synergistic solutions to our nation’s long term energy needs.