Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
NASA/DOE Mod-1 HAWT and Environmental Issues
The Wind Turbine System
Development of the Mod-1 Experimental HAWT (Fig. 3-31), the irst megawatt-scale
wind turbine on a utility grid since the 1939 Smith-Putnam turbine, began in parallel with
the installation of the Mod-0As. Rated at 2.0 MW and with a rotor 61 m in diameter, the
Mod-1 HAWT used the same general design coniguration as the Mod-0: a two-bladed,
rigid hub rotor with full-blade pitch control, mounted downwind of a stiff, truss tower. The
experimental system was designed and built by the General Electric Company , with welded-
steel blades fabricated by the Boeing Aerospace Company (Fig. 3-32). It was installed on
a small mountain called Howard's Knob near Boone, North Carolina, and was dedicated on
July 11, 1979. The local utility, the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Cooperative , operated
the Mod-1 for two years, proving that megawatt-scale wind turbines could be successfully
interfaced with a large, conventional utility power system [Collins et al . 1982].
Figure 3-31. The 2.0-MW 61-m diameter Mod-1 experimental HAWT in 1979 on
Howard's Knob overlooking Boone, North Carolina. It was the irst megawatt-scale
wind turbine since the Smith-Putnam HAWT. ( Courtesy of NASA Lewis Research Center )
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