Scientists develop hurricane-resilient wind turbines

Wind technology is growing—literally. Today’s offshore wind turbines can tower more than 490 feet above ground, their spinning blades churning out up to 8 megawatts (MW) each—about enough to power 4000 homes in the U.S.

But with their increasing size comes challenges. Off the east coast, where offshore turbines are located in the U.S., increasingly powerful Atlantic hurricanes pose risks to the structures themselves and to the future of wind energy. To make those turbines more hurricane-resilient, a team of CU Boulder researchers are taking a cue from nature and turning the turbine around. “We are very much bio-inspired by palm trees, which can... ... More: Official Press Release University of CU Boulder

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University of Colorado Boulder, offshore, typhoon, wind turbine, blade. MW, palm tree, hurricane, resilient, scientists, development