Wind power combines my passion for aerodynamics with my strong environmental consciousness - ENGIE
Wind power combines my passion for aerodynamics with my strong environmental consciousness
Head of Onshore Wind Research Projects for ENGIE Research & Innovation
You coordinate a range of onshore wind projects for ENGIE Research & Innovation. What is your average day like?
My role involves defining and implementing our research strategy in onshore wind. We strive to find solutions to today’s challenges as well as those that have yet to arise but will soon be crucial for the energy industry. For instance, besides working on maximizing the energy produced by wind turbines, we also aim to increase the value of this energy – meaning, the ability to produce when the electrical grid needs it most.
Each year, we propose research topics to ENGIE Research & Innovation and to the team in charge of renewable activities. Currently, we're working on 25 projects, such as blade recycling and wind farm aerodynamics. We're dedicated to being close to operations so that our research can be useful to them.
What will the wind turbines of the future look like?
Visually, they'll look like today's turbines, but they'll continue to increase in size. More importantly, they'll be operated much more dynamically, based on equipment fatigue and damage, as well as real-time electricity needs.
You seem passionate about the subject...
Absolutely! I decided early on in my engineering studies that wind power would be my specialty. It allows me to combine my passion for aerodynamics with my desire to work in renewable energy and ecology.
What qualities does your job require?
A deep understanding of the sector, a love for learning and collaboration, the ability to listen and comprehend issues on the ground... My job also requires imagination. Also, it's important to know how to manage numerous and diverse projects without losing sight of the big picture. I love bridging the gap between ENGIE Research & Innovation, operational entities, and partners.
Your motto?
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood," Marie Curie. This quote applies everywhere, whether in science or in human interactions.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.