Northern Power Systems WindPACT Drive Train Alternative Design Study Report; Period of Performance: April 12, 2001 to January 31, 2005

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Wind Partnerships for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) project seeks to advance wind turbine technology by exploring innovative concepts in drivetrain design. A team led by Northern Power Systems (Northern) of Waitsfield, Vermont, was chosen to perform this work. Conducted under subcontract YCX-1-30209-02, project objectives are to identify, design, and test a megawatt (MW)-scale drivetrain with the lowest overall life cycle cost. The project entails three phases: preliminary study of alternative drivetrain designs (Phase I), detailed design development (Phase II), and proof of concept fabrication and test (Phase III). This report summarizes the results of the preliminary design study (Phase I).