DOE BOOSTS RESEARCH ON BIGGER WIND

Feds Fund Research Into Taller Wind Turbines

Chris Clarke, Sept. 18, 2014 (KCET)

“The U.S. Department of Energy…[will provide $2 million to] two groups working on ways to build [taller, more powerful] wind turbines …to harness winds at higher altitudes, which are often stronger and steadier than more turbulent winds closer to the ground…Onshore wind turbines installed in the U.S. in 2013 had an average hub height [where the blades attach] of 80 meters, or about 260 feet…[G]rant recipients Keystone Towers of Massachusetts and Iowa State University are working on separate technologies that could result in sturdy, relatively inexpensive wind turbine towers as tall as 120 meters, or about 400 feet…If a 120-meter tower is fitted with rotor blades that sweep an area 100 meters in diameter, those blade tips will reach 170 meters…[or 560 feet, where they can drive turbines with capacities as high as 7.5 megawatts, or even 10 megawatts [and weigh hundreds of tons]. The average capacity of onshore wind turbines built in the U.S. in 2013 was just under 2 megawatts… Keystone Towers is exploring a spiral welding technique that may allow on-site fabrication of tubular steel towers that are 40 percent lighter than those currently used,which would save on both materials and shipping costs. Iowa State is designing a modular hexagonal concrete and steel design that would allow shipping those tall towers to a project site in pieces, where they would be assembled like building blocks…” click here for more

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