Many of the gearbox problems described above may be the direct result of institutional barriers that hinder communication and feedback during the design, operation, and maintenance of turbines. In isolation, it is very difficult for single entities in the supply chain to find proper solutions. Hence, a collaborative is needed to bring together the various portions of the design process, and to share information needed to address the problems.

This promises to be one of the more challenging parts of this project, as information sharing introduces perceived risk to the protection of intellectual property, which is guarded dearly by most companies. A goal of this project is to establish this cooperative framework while protecting the intellectual property rights of all parties. These concerns will be addressed through legal agreements with NREL, and will be further mitigated since the project does not focus on any manufacturer’s specific design.

The collaborative is operated by NREL staff and expert consultants hired by NREL to guarantee privacy of commercially sensitive information and data. In addition, a goal of the collaborative is to engage key representatives of the supply chain, including turbine owners, operators, gearbox manufacturers, bearing manufacturers, lubrication companies, and wind turbine manufacturers. Each party holds information and experience that is needed to guide the project, supply the gearbox , and interpret results of the test. The collaborative partners will benefit by having input throughout the testing setup and execution, and will have access to data within the agreements established by the cooperative. Results will be released by the GRC as agreed upon by its members.