Applications throughout the World - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 8

1.4 MarketforWindTurbineComposites

1.4.1 Introduction

The.combined.sales.of.large.wind.power.plants.and.small.turbines.for.dis-
tributed. generations. are. $4. to. 5. billion. annually. worldwide,. and. growing..
The.wind.turbine.manufacturing.business.has.grown.from.farms.to.major.
industrial.plans.

1.4.2 Weight and Cost

Power.wind.turbine.blades.offer.new.business.opportunities.in.manufactur-
ing.and.materials.innovation..Worldwide.growth.in.wind.generation.since.
1994.has.been.30.percent.or.higher.annually..The.cost.of.energy.from.large.
wind.power.plants.has.declined.to.less.than.$0.05/kWh..By.the.end.of.2000,.
the. global. capacity. had. passed. 17,600. MW, 5,6 . and. the. United. States. alone.
more.than.1,800.MW,.and.new.installation.was.completed. 7,8
The.weight.and.cost.is.the.key.to.making.wind.energy.competitive.with.
other.power.sources.because.research.programs.have.signiicantly.improved.
the.eficiency.of.the.rotor.and.maximized.the.energy.capture.of.the.machine.
The.real.opportunity.today.is.through.using.low-cost.materials.with.high-
volume.production,.while.ensuring.the.reliability,.strength,.and.life.expec-
tation..The.typical.weight.and.cost.of.the.primary.turbine.components.are.
shown.in.Table 1.1. 5
In.addition,.there.are.foundations.and.conventional.ground-mounted.sys-
tems,.including.transformers,.switching,.and.other.power..Turbine.subsys-
tem.costs.are.generally.evenly.split.between.rotor,.nacelle,.drive.train.power.
systems,. and. the. tower.. The. rotor. is. the. highest. cost. item. of. the. machines.
and,.therefore,.must.be.the.most.reliable..Towers.are.normally.the.heaviest.
component.and.could.beneit.from.weight.reduction,.but.lightening.the.rotor.
or.tower.top.weight.has.a.multiplayer.effect.throughout.the.system,.includ-
ing.the.foundation.

TABLE 1.1
Turbine.Component.Weight.and.Cost

Component %ofMachineWeight %ofMachineCost 9

Rotor 37177 20-30

Nacelle.and.machinery,.less 25-40 25

Gearbox.and.drive.train 37025 37178

Generator.systems 36927 37025

Weight.of.top.of.tower 35-50 n/a

Tower 30-65 37188