Dive Brief:
- The University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center is testing a 180-foot wind turbine blade, the largest structure the center has tested.
- Looking to boost the cost effectiveness of wind generation, the industry has been considering larger components,
- The name of the manufacturer who produced the turbine blade was not released, under terms of the testing contract.
Dive Insight:
As the wind industry looks to ramp up the cost effectiveness of generation, the push is towards larger components. According to the Bangor Daily News, the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) will spend the remainder of the year running tests on a 180-foot wind turbine blade, the largest the facility has ever tested.
According to the newspaper, ASCC is one of only a couple of facilities in the country capable of testing a blade this size. The turbine used to test the blade will have a 400-foot rotation diameter.
“There’s a big push for bigger and bigger and bigger,” Bangor Daily News quoted Habib Dagher, director of the center. Testing the blade will involve about 150 sensors; tests will be run through the remainder of the year.
