Discovery of the Day

In his article 'Offshore turbine blueprint offers pathway to 20 MW models' on NewEnergyUpdate Neil Ford describes the pathway to a new supersized reference turbine design that will help fixed and floating wind developers tackle looming weight and loading challenges.

As turbines grow bigger, these challenges have to be addressed. Last month, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) launched a new 15 MW IEA reference turbine design in a boost for developers. The reference design provides open access to a complete wind turbine system allowing technology developers to evaluate performance and cost ahead of prototype development.