Applications throughout the World - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 9

1.4.3 Technology Evaluation

Light-weight,. low-cost. materials. are. especially. important. in. blades. and.
towers.for.several.reasons:.the.weight.of.the.blades.and.rotor.is.multiplied.
throughout.the.machine,.it.reduces.loads,.and.the.machine.works.in.a.more.
stable.regime.
The.tower.weight.is.60.percent.of.the.weight.of.the.turbine.above.the.foun-
dation.because.sophisticated.light-weight,.high-strength.materials.are.often.
too.costly.to.justify.their.use..Another.technology.shift.is.occurring.in.the.
drive. train.. In. some. cases,. the. gearbox. is. being. eliminated. by. employing.
variable.speed.generators.and.solid.state.electronic.converters.that.produce.
utility. quality. alternating. current. (AC). power.. This. trend. began. in. small.
machines.and.is.now.being.incorporated.in.turbine.sizes.from.100.kW.to.3.
MW. 9 .Other.trends.in.wind.turbine.technology.are.discussed.in.detail.in.the.
Renewable Energy Technology Characterizations .published.by.the.Electric.Power.
Research.Institute.(EPRI) 10 .with.DOE.support.

1.4.4 Market and Turbine Components Material Data

1.4.4.1 Wind Energy Market Dynamics

New.generation.wind.turbine.designs.are.continuing.to.push.up.the.power-
generating.capacity.of.wind.turbines..A.common.trend.among.larger.capac-
ity. designs. is. the. use. of. longer. blades.. Covering. a. larger. area. effectively.
increases.the.tip-speed.of.a.turbine.at.a.given.wind.velocity,.thus.increasing.
the.energy.extraction.capability.of.the.system.
Denmark-based. Vestas. Wind. Systems. A/S once. again. topped. the. list. of.
wind.turbine.original.equipment.manufacturers,.according.to.Dan.Shreve,.
director.with.MAKE.Consulting..The.strategic.advisory.irm,.which.focuses.
on.the.global.wind.industry,.recently.released.its.annual.report.that.tracks.
global. wind. turbine. manufacturing. trends:. Wind. Turbine. OEMS. Global.
Market.Share.Report.for.2009. 11
In.North.America,.Canada.saw.signiicant.growth.and.the.United.States.
posted. another. record. year.. According. to. the. American. Wind. Energy.
Association's. Year End 2009 Market Report ,. released. in. January. 2011,. 9,922.
MW.of.new.capacity.was.installed,.breaking.all.previous.industry.records..
The. additional. capacity. increased. the. U.S.. wind. plant. leet. by. 39. percent,.
bringing. the. country's. total. wind. power. generating. capacity. to. more. than.
35,000.MW.from.25,237.MW.at.the.end.of.2008. 11
According.to.a.report.published.by. China Daily .in.February,.there.has.been.
a.dramatic.shift.in.market.demand.in.recent.years.from.37.5.m.(123.ft.).blades,.
to.blades.that.are.40.3.m.(132.ft.).
At. the. end. of. 2009,. wind. power. in. China. accounted. for. 25.1. gigawatts.
(GW).of.electrical.generating.capacity.and.the.country.has.identiied.wind.
power.as.a.key.growth.component.of.its.economy..China.is.now.the.largest.