Lockheed Martin designed giant 50 MW wind turbine
Mega turbine blades for more efficiency. At dangerous wind speeds, the blades are stowed and aligned with the wind direction, reducing the risk of damage
Sandia Lab (US), part of Lockheed Martin, has designed mega wind turbine blades for offshore wind mills.
The turbine blades do have a length of 200 meters: More than two times longer than the longest turbine blades which usually provide green energy from wind mills on land or at sea.
More efficient
These huge blades are much more efficient than the traditional ones, according to Todd Griffith, head of Sandia’s offshore wind program.
“Offshore installations are expensive. The more energy we generate per mill, the more affordable the green energy becomes.”
Earlier, the research laboratory has developed already blades with a length of 100 meters, which produces 13 MW of power.
Flexible blades
The developed blades are relatively flexible and can be build up in segments. In the design of Sandia, the rotor with three blades hangs behind the tower of the windmill.
The 100-meter blade is the basis for the Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR), a new low-cost offshore 50-MW wind turbine. At dangerous wind speeds, the blades are stowed and aligned with the wind direction, reducing the risk of damage. At lower wind speeds, the blades spread out more to maximize energy production.
Two blades
The Dutch start-up 2-B Energy is working on a similar down-wind windmill. Their first prototype has a capacity of 6 megawatts. This windmill has two blades. The advantage of this system is that maintenance at sea, a helicopter will be able to land on top of the wind mill.
Blade Dynamics
Blade Dynamics (UK) produces the wind turbine blades that are to build up in segments. Late 2015, Blade Dynamics was acquired by General Electric.
This is how a windturbine works
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GE Renewable Energy unveiled its largest onshore wind turbine this week, a 4.8 megawatt turbine which is able to generate enough electricity at low to medium wind sites for the equivalent of 5,000 homes.
“The 4.8–158 design is an important next step in turbine technology and efficiency, and we’re excited to introduce this turbine at this moment in time,” said Pete McCabe, President & CEO of GE’s Onshore Wind Business. “It is well suited for low to medium wind speed regions worldwide — examples include Germany, Turkey and Australia — as well as for mechanisms like auctions, as countries around the world are putting an increased emphasis on lowering the cost of energy.”
This is GE’s first 4 MW onshore wind turbine and is purpose-built to generate in low to medium wind sites — an important development, as many high wind sites have already been developed, and countries and developers look for more opportunities in less optimal conditions. Developing technology specifically for less-optimal renewable energy sites is a key step in continuing the development of renewable energy, and simply good business for technology manufacturers.