Wind energy is anticipated to play a central role in enabling a rapid transition from fossil fuels to a system based largely on renewable power. Wind power is expected to be the backbone – providing nearly half of the electrical energy – of a renewable-based, carbon-neutral energy system. For this to happen, critical challenges around design, manufacture, and deployment of land and offshore technologies must be addressed. The wind research community has invested significant effort toward understanding the nature and implications of these challenges and identifying associated gaps. The outcomes of these efforts are summarized in the series of articles listed here.

The publication of the Grand Challenges series of papers has been supported by the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE) and its Publications Committee. The EAWE is an international alliance of 55 member institutions from Europe and the USA, aiming to promote and support the development of wind energy science through a community of worldwide experts that provides a credible voice of tomorrow's wind energy research. The Grand Challenges initiative had its origins in Topical Expert Meetings sponsored by the International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Wind TCP), an international co-operation of 23 countries and sponsor members that share information and research activities to advance wind energy deployment.