First offshore turbine in North America: floating composites
Hats off to the Dr.
Hats off to the Dr. Habib Dagher and University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center for the May 31 launch of VolturnUS 1:8, the nation's and continent's first grid-connected offshore wind turbine. The floating, all-composite turbine will be installed in deep ocean waters off the coast of Maine as part of a design and development ramp-up to a larger version to follow in 2016.
See full story here: UMaine launches 1:8 scale composite floating turbine
The production tax credit (PTC) that has fueled wind energy development in the U.S. is proving so unreliable as to give wind turbine developers much pause, but the DeepCwind consortium leading the UMaine effort is determined that floating offshore wind will win the day on cost alone, with or without a PTC.
The composites industry should and will watch VolturnUS 1:8 closely over the next several months as it is put through its paces in the sometimes-challenging waters off the Maine coast.
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