43
Cost
Effective Approach to Tall Composite Wind Turbine Towers by Allowing On-Site
Fabrication--Composite
Support & Solutions, Inc., 32526 Seahill Drive, Building C-11, Rancho Palos
Verdes, CA 90275-5866; 310-265-0850
Dr.
Clement Hiel, Principal Investigator,
Mrs.
Hilde Van Dun, Business Official,
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83830
Amount:
$648,467
Nearly
half of the expected 50% improvement in wind turbine production will come from
towers that will be twice the height of those common in the late 1980s. Although
much technology input has gone into blades, the technology for towers has been
at a virtual standstill. This is
especially true for large Megawatt-size turbines, because the cost of the steel
and concrete towers constitutes 30% of their cost.
This project will develop technology for manufacturing composite towers
on-site, providing major savings in transport and labor.
A telescoping composite tower design will be used to help with the
lifting tasks for the nacelle and blades. Phase
I demonstrated the feasibility of a new family of towers that can be completely
manufactured in the field. The
feasibility of tower erection without the need for a tall crane also was
established. Lastly, the tower was
designed to allow easier mounting of the nacelle and easier installation of the
blades. Phase II will create and
certify a 26-meter-tall proof-of-concept composite tower for mating with the
nacelle. The tower will be
instrumented, and dynamic tower response data will be captured during a three
month time frame.
Commercial Applications and Other
Benefits
as described by awardee: The
composite tower should have broad application in both the replacement market for
steel towers and in new installations. The
same technology, currently being applied to composite highway sign bridges, also
should be of interest to the electrical utility market for tall poles.