Wind/Energy
WTTC opens upsized wind blade test facility
The Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC, Boston, Mass.) opened its $35 million+ wind blade testing facility on May 18, 2011, the only lab in the U.S. that can test blades up to 90m/295-ft long.
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UMaine’s Offshore Wind lab sports 70m/230-ft testing … and more
The Offshore Wind Laboratory’s new wind turbine blade test lab, part of a 38,700-ft² (3,595m²) expansion of the University of Maine’s (UMaine) AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center (Orono, Maine), was first announced in February 2009.
Read MoreIn Europe: Fraunhofer-IWES, NaREC Take Blade testing to 100m/328 ft
Two rotor blade testing facilities in Europe have answered the call for testing capability that will accommodate today’s longer blade designs for offshore wind turbines with newly constructed blade test sites.Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES, Bremerhaven, Germany), the first to complete its expanded facility, is now able to test 90m/295-ft blades, up from 70m/230-ft test lengths two years ago.
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Tidal turbine blade toughened for turbulent salt sea
Demonstrator design proves robust blade destined for 10-MW tidal turbine farm.
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Structural health monitoring: Angling for the air
Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for composite aerostructures have been slow to deliver on their promise, but a system developed by Luna Technologies (Roanoke, Va.) is on a glide path to implementation on in-service aircraft
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Off-grid turbine: Helix in the wind
This new composite twist on the vertical-axis wind turbine makes no small impact on the private power market.
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Rapid layup: New 3-D preform technology
Hook-and-loop fasteners speed layup of carbon, aramid, glass and hybrid fabrics while improving composites’ mechanical performance.
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Novel offshore wind energy system relies on carbon fiber sails
The 50-kW Nova project features a composites-intensive offshore, double-arm, vertical axes wind turbine system (VAWTS) that will investigate the affordability and feasibility of manufacturing this innovative energy system.
Read MoreThe PTC: Symptom of policy uncertainty
The U.S. federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2012, because Congress claims it cannot afford the yearly cost (estimated at $3.5 billion). Here's why Congress is wrong and who's really behind opposition to the PTC.
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WINDPOWER 2012 report
Continued technology-driven performance gains are overshadowed by PTC gloom and predicted Asian overcapacity.
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