Attachment 1: Statement of Work

APPENDIX A

STATEMENT OF WORK

"2026 Distributed Wind Turbine Competitiveness Improvement Project” 9/14/2026

1. BACKGROUND

The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) primary national laboratory for energy systems research and development. As the energy systems laboratory, NLR’s unique strength lies in developing and integrating a broad array of energy technologies into robust, resilient systems - bridging foundational research with practical applications to lower energy costs, drive economic growth, bolster national security, and deliver abundant and reliable energy.
Distributed wind (DW) refers to wind energy systems (large and small) connected directly to the distribution grid, on the customer side of the meter, or at an off-grid location to support local loads or grid operations. Market analysis by NLR suggests there are gigawatts of economically viable distributed wind potential both behind the meter (sited by a residential, commercial, or industrial end-user to serve onsite load) and on local distribution systems. The DOE Integrated Energy Systems Office (IESO) sponsors a multifaceted wind energy technology research and development (R&D) portfolio to develop cost-competitive, high-performance technology to serve this vast U.S. energy resource and supply global distributed energy markets. The 2026 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) aims to support American businesses who design and manufacture distributed wind turbine technology.
The goals of the CIP are to:
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innovate optimized distributed wind turbine and power electronics designs for increased energy production, grid support, and lower costs,

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develop advanced manufacturing processes,

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conduct testing for certification to national standards, and

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commercialize and validate distributed wind technology.

To date, the CIP has yielded numerous successes, including levelized cost of energy (LCOE) reductions of greater than 50%, increasing the number of certified distributed wind turbine systems, and successful listing of power electronics to the latest national standards. The CIP is designed to support small businesses pursuing innovative wind technology R&D at multiple phases of the product development cycle, from prototype to commercialization. Funded projects must demonstrate direct impacts on the American economy.

2. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the CIP is to expand U.S. leadership in the domestic and international distributed energy market sectors by assisting U.S. manufacturers in either lowering the LCOE