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The world’s “longest ever” wind-turbine blades are to be assembled on the Isle of Wight in a project backed by the Energy Technologies Institute.
The ETI has invested more than £15 million for a stake in Blade Dynamics, which is based on the island and is developing technologies for constructing carbon-fibre blades for the next generation of wind turbines.
Manufacturing of wind turbines on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere in the UK has suffered in recent times. Vestas, the world’s largest maker of turbines, withdrew from the Isle of Wight in 2009, and decided not to create another factory in Kent. And Clipper Windpower was forced to abandon plans to build a turbine blade factory on the Tyne.
David Cripps, senior technical manager at Blade Dynamics, said his firm was bucking the trend. “The principle is based on carbon-fibre technology, which substantially reduces weight and enables you to build slimmer profiles which are more aerodynamically efficient. By saving a lot of weight, you can also take out weight and cost in the rest of the turbine structure.”
Blade Dynamics makes blades from separate individual mouldings rather than a single giant mould. This method enables accurate parts to be made, and also means a more diverse supply chain, thereby speeding up production and keeping cost down, said Cripps. “We can reduce the cost of the blade because we are using conventional moulding technology and smaller pieces.
“You can go longer with lighter-weight blades because it reduces the load on the body of the turbine. And longer blades mean a higher power output.
“There’s no indigenous UK company making wind turbines, so we’re unusual. To have a UK company involved in even third-party blade manufacture – most companies are foreign,” he said.
The investment from the ETI will finance the design, development and manufacture of the large offshore blades. As part of the £15.5 million project, the ETI will become an equity investor in Blade Dynamics – helping with technology development and allowing the company to grow its workforce by up to a third in the short to medium term. This is the second time in 12 months that the ETI has made a private-equity investment in a UK small firm that is developing innovative technologies.
Blade Dynamics will construct blades for the ETI of between 80m and 100m in length, incorporating carbon fibre rather than conventional glass fibre. This compares with blades now deployed offshore of between 60m and 75m in length.
The intended end use for the blade technology is on the next generation of large offshore wind turbines under development, with a capacity of 8-10MW. This compares with the 5-6MW capacity turbines that are now deployed offshore. The aim is to produce a single blade initially, followed by three blades for a complete turbine. Production could be ramped up through subcontractors to meet future demand, said Cripps. “There is a lot of intellectual property in joining of sections, because it’s the most difficult bit,” he said.