Composites Technology - June 2008

Wind Turbine Blades: Big and Getting Bigger

Two decades of technical and market development has made this once marginal application a global giant and one of the world’s largest markets for composites.

By all accounts, 2007 was another banner year for the wind energy industry. According to estimates compiled by the various associations that now monitor this industry, wind turbine technology added approximately 20 gigawatts (GW) — or 20,000 megawatts (MW) — of new installed generating capacity to power grids around the world last year. Based on the average rated power-generating capacity of turbines, this new growth involved the construction and installation of more than 15,100 new wind turbines — a 28 percent increase over reported 2006 levels. As a result, figures for cumulative global wind energy capacity now are said to range between 95 GW to a little over 100 GW. That’s enough electricity to send Marty McFly’s plutonium-powered DeLorean sports car Back to the Future about 83 times! Based on strong orders, manufacturing capacity buildup and the ever-improving business case for wind power, it is predicted that the industry has the potential to add as much as 30,000 MW of new capacity this year. Read More ...