CleanTechnica: No More Excuses: Spiral Welding Can Bring Taller Wind Turbines To US Southeast
Wind energy fans have been eyeballing vast swaths of the US southeast for new opportunities, only to be thwarted by relatively thin wind resources and unfavorable political winds, too. Not too much can be done about the latter, but the former problem could be resolved by taller wind turbines that can harvest more optimal wind speeds at higher altitudes. After that, it’s only a matter of time before the political cookie crumbles.
Taller Wind Turbines For Everybody
Designing taller wind towers is not as easy as it sounds. The increased cost for materials, labor, and other elements is just one obstacle. Infrastructure issues stand in the way of transporting larger components, including bridges, tunnels, and winding roads.
On the plus side, taller towers can accommodate longer blades, which enhances the bottom line benefit of harvesting high-altitude winds.
That explains why the US Department of Energy has been on the prowl for taller wind turbine towers. They could be a cost-effective pathway for unlocking new energy resources in Southeastern states and other regions with less-than-optimal wind speeds at lower altitudes.
The Long Road To Taller Turbine Towers: Concrete Edition
Concrete has been used in turbine tower construction for a relatively short period of time, but it could have a game-changing impact on turbine height.
GE is one firm that has been eyeballing concrete to help increase the height of steel turbine towers, without running afoul of transportation issues. The idea is to park a conventional steel tower on a tall concrete column, instead of a slab. To overcome transportation obstacles, the column could be fabricated on site.
Pouring concrete on site could raise new cost issues related to the on-site construction timeline and the cost of labor. GE has been working to step over those hurdles with the the 3D printing firm COBOD and the sustainable building firm Holcim. The result is a modular, transportable 3D-printed concrete system. Once on site, the printer can be tended by a skeleton crew.