96
Development
of a Low Wind Turbine Blade Making Optimal Use of Carbon Fiber Composites--Global
Energy Concepts, LLC, 5729 Lakeview Drive NE, #100, Kirkland, WA
98033-7340; 425-822-9008
Mr.
Dayton Griffin, Principal Investigator, dgriffin@globalenergyconcepts.com
Mr.
Robert Poore, Business Official, rpoore@globalenergyconcepts.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG03-02ER83451
Amount:
$99,968
As the size of wind turbines has
grown, fundamental engineering principles have caused the cost and weight of
blades to increase faster than the energy output.
This has reduced the extent to which the cost of energy from wind
turbines can be reduced by increasing the size of the turbines.
Unfortunately, the approaches that have been attempted to address this
problem have not been compatible with the materials that are commonly used in
wind turbine blades. This project
will addressed this problem by incorporating carbon fibers into wind turbine
blade designs, leading to a 10-to-20 percent reduction in the cost of energy
from wind turbines. Phase I will
determine the most appropriate means of incorporating carbon fiber into wind
turbine blades to allow for a reduction in loads and increase in the blade
length. Changes in the blade
planform will be addressed as well as procedures for incorporating bend/twist
coupling into the blade design.
Commercial
Applications and Other Benefits
as described by the awardee: The
wind turbine blade design should be suitable for sale to the international wind
energy market,which exceeded $5 billion dollars in 2001.
Of this, approximately $500 million was related to blades.
The blade designs developed under this work are expected to be
particularly well suited to larger diameter rotors for use in relatively low
wind sites in the
United States.
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