u.s. industry consensus standards development activities

Since its inception in 1974, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has
worked to develop wind industry consensus standards in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and other organizations that have a stake in the development of wind energy technology.

Specific standards development activities conducted by AWEA involve the development, review, adoption and publication of standards documents by experts in wind technology and related topics from industry, utilities, and the research community, including the National Renewable Energy laboratory's National Wind Technology Center. AWEA's Standards Coordinating Committee (SCC) coordinates and ensures the review of all standards documents and participates in international wind energy standards development. AWEA has been designated as a standards-making organization by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)and is recognized as the lead wind energy standards organization in the United States.

Standards Development Process

AWEA is the lead organization for the development of U.S. industry consensus standards in liaison with a variety of professional organizations. Organizations consulted or directly involved in wind turbine standards development include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM), ANSI, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the American Gear Manufacturer's Association (AGMA), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In addition, AWEA participates in the development of international wind energy standards in conjunction with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Standards Organization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) and other appropriate international organizations.

Domestic standards development activities are performed under established AWEA standards subcommittees which are guided by the Standards Coordinating Committee (SCC). The subcommittees create standards documents which are then approved under a consensus process that involves soliciting comments from the industry at large and the eventual acceptance of the documents by the SCC for publication as AWEA standards.

Since 1988, it has been recognized that domestic U.S. standards must be compatible with IEC standards to ensure that U.S. wind businesses have full access to foreign markets. Therefore, the primary role of the domestic standards subcommittees has been threefold: 1) to develop guidelines and recommendations that have an impact on international standards, 2) to assess and vote on the adoption of international standards as U.S. domestic standards, and 3) to develop U.S. standards for aspects of wind technology development and use that are not yet covered by international standards, such as siting.

International standards are developed by the working groups of Technical Committee-88 (TC-88) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the recognized international body for standards development activities.

International Standards Activities

AWEA maintains liaison with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards development activities through the involvement of an AWEA representative as the U.S. technical coordinator for TC-88 and the support of other U.S. industry members who serve as delegates to the Working Groups.

GO TO: IEC Standards Development

Obtaining Standards Documents

International Wind Energy Standards documents are available from the
American National Standards Institute Web site.

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