Pressure Vessels
GFRP enables first grid-connected U.S. floating wind turbine
Composite tower on 1:8-scale system reduces hull size/weight and helps mitigate the overall cost of electric power generation.
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Automated cutting accelerates
Software/hardware advances and peripheral equipment make flatbed cutters essential to automated production scenarios.
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Towerless turbine: Airborne system powers rural locales
Wind energy start-up Altaeros Energies' (Boston, Mass.) Buoyant Airborne Turbine (BAT) proof-of-concept prototype reportedly can harvest the more consistent winds at higher altitudes because its elevation is not limited by the need for a tower.
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2014 JEC Europe Review
The composites world met again in Paris, vibrant, stronger, and more forward-looking than ever before.
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The long view: DoE's offshore wind project funding
The U.S. Department of Energy raised some eyebrows when it chose not to fund UMaine's composites-intensive floating turbine, but perhaps the decision makes more sense than we realize.
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Don’t call it a blimp!
The builders of this variable-buoyancy craft count on carbon fiber/epoxy trusswork to enable a new era of air transport.
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SAMPE Tech Seattle 2014 Preview
The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering’s annual fall Tech conference is now a spring event.
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Towerless wind turbine
Altaeros' BAT (Buoyant Airborne Turbine) prototype will be tested soon in Alaska. Remote settlements or communities far from the power grid pay dearly for electricity.
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Wind, coal and the cost of energy
The U.S. Congress is considering extending the renewable energy production tax credit, which bodes well for wind turbine manufacturers. But despite wind's dropping costs, we still live in a world oriented toward and dependent on coal for electricity.
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Composites Industry Outlook: Positive
An exhibition like CAMX 2014, which draws together all aspects of the composites manufacturing industry, demands a comprehensive and thorough review of the health of the industry and where it’s headed.
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