BlueWind celebrates 1,500 composite nacelle cover milestone

BlueWind Technology (Pensacola, Fla., U.S.), specializing in the manufacture of composite parts — particularly nacelle covers — has recently registered a significant milestone. With just one set of molds, the company has manufactured 1,500 nacelle covers in 40 months. The company notes that the number of nacelles that left its factory in just over three years would on average typically take twice as long to be produced in the regular market.

Nacelle are structures on top of wind turbines and inside house wind turbines, among other components. The 1,500 nacelle covers produced by BlueWind represent a power generation potential capable of serving approximately 2.5 million homes in the U.S.

The nacelle covers were manufactured via infusion. They were part of a contract signed in late 2019 with GE Renewable Energy (Paris, France), the year in which BlueWind was founded. “In 90 days, we set up the factory from scratch to serve GE,” recalls Jean Zolet, executive director of BlueWind. At 9.1 meters in length, 2.9 meters in width and 3.6 meters in height, the nacelles are part of the 2X wind turbine. 

Even operating with only one set of molds, BlueWind says it reached the rhythm of 10 nacelles produced weekly in just four months. “Our production system combines speed and quality. Keeping that pace with one mold means that everything must always work perfectly,” stresses Zolet.

From a quality point of view, the executive director of BlueWind points out that the company holds, in addition to the ISO 9001:2015 certification, the APQP4Wind seal, a quality reference in the wind power generation industry. “We also had the plant and product certified by GE, which conducts a rigorous program with its suppliers,” he says.

In July 2022, BlueWind announced an initial 1,000 nacelle cover milestone in only 28 months.