NAT’L LAB LOOKS AT BIG WIND

NREL gets super-sized turbine at wind center
August 24, 2009 (Daily Camera via Energy Current)

"The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has added the first of two super-sized wind turbines to its [12+ turbine] research center in southern Boulder County…[where] graceful lattice-mounted units with 2-kilowatt capacities [and] hulking white turbines from the mid-1980s that can crank out 600 kilowatts…[stand in] the wind gusting off the foothills at the National Wind Technology Center.

"…[C]onstruction workers used two cranes to lift 220 tons of [one new turbine’s] parts into place. The rotors for the new machine stretch nearly 253 feet in diameter, and when turning, those blades will be able to generate 1.5 megawatts of power…"

This used to be a windmill...(click to enlarge)

"Thousands of similar turbines are already being used at wind farms across the country, but the blades on those machines need to keep spinning, generating as much electricity as possible and working to recoup investments in the farm…[A]t the wind center, researchers will be able to tweak the turbine to get the most energy possible from the available wind in an effort to close the already-shrinking gap between the cost of wind energy and the cost of electricity from fossil fuels…"

...Now this is. (click to enlarge)

"A second turbine, with even bigger blades -- a 331-foot rotor diameter -- will be installed at the [National Wind Technology Center ] wind center later this year… The wind, when it comes, can be brutal, gusting in wild, turbulent bursts [sometimes of more than 100 mph] -- the kind of conditions that are rough on a turbine, flexing the blades and straining the generator. But that's perfect for the wind center. Researchers there are studying how to more accurately and quickly turn turbines into the wind and adjust the pitch of the blades to keep the generator running smoothly.

"The location also helps scientists learn how turbines hold up to ice, lightning strikes, temperature variations and violent storms…"