JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017 - 43

Strong growth in wind energy worldwide

Danish market leader Vestas gives a material
breakdown of a Vestas turbine: steel and iron
materials account for 84.4%, polymer materials for 5.4 % and glass/carbon composites
still for 7%.
For around 5 years, Abo Wind has used
sensors to collect relevant performance
data. Condition monitoring systems
(CMS) are used to draw conclusions
about the condition of single components that would not be observable or
accessible, thus offering an important
instrument to increase efficiency.

Bernd eilitz,
Spokesperson
Siemens Gamesa

JCM: Do you see the innovation potential
for the next years more from the materials
side or from processing and applications?

Roping down for maintenance ©Abo Wind

These installations need even bigger
rotors to reach the same outcome at
lower wind velocities. Siemens Gamesa
has been using glass fibre composite
materials for its rotor blades, most of
which are produced from one piece
in a special process. In the upcoming
years, there may be a greater demand
for rotor blades made of lightweight
materials for weak-wind sites. Siemens
Gamesa delivered a first installation,
the SWT-3.15-142, for low-wind sites
with carbon fibre rotor blades provided
by a supplier.
More information:
www.abo-wind.com

Bernd Eilitz: The driving force for
innovation comes from the design of rotor
blades. With the aero-elastic blades, Siemens
Gamesa launched an innovation a few
years ago that has remarkable advantages
regarding the overall statics of wind turbines.
Since the blades are able to pitch by their
elasticity, air turbulences are automatically
cushioned, therefore limiting static loads
and protecting the wind turbine bearings or
tower. Further innovation potential lies in
the design of the rotor blades: Here we may
expect enhancements in terms of operating
noise and energy output.
What type of materials does Siemens
Gamesa use to produce wind blades and
what are the advantages and disadvantages of glass fibre and carbon?

B.E.: We all look at this from a costeffectiveness point of view: Glass fibre
materials save costs and provide a very
durable solution whereas carbon fibre
saves weight.

B.E.: For the middle of the next decade,
we expect rotor diameters of 200 metres
and more, which requires further
innovations in terms of both materials and
processing methods.

Feature Wind Ennergy

Low-wind locations urging
for larger rotor blades
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
is one of the wind turbine producers
working closely together with Abo
Wind. The recent merger of Siemens
Windpower and Spanish Gamesa into
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy resulted in a powerful leadership, with a
75 GW installed capacity on- and
offshore worldwide in more than 90
countries across five continents. A clear
trend towards increasingly larger facilities is observable: Higher performance
and larger rotors mean increasing the
yield while keeping maintenance costs
more or less equal. Since coastal and
other wind-intensive locations are
already occupied, there is a run on
low-wind locations for wind turbines.

interview

/ jec composites magazine

How should the ideal material be designed? Do you have a message for
composite producers?

B.E.: Composite materials have to feature

high durability and a robust surface.
Siemens Gamesa developed special
protectors against leading-edge corrosion,
which is particularly high in offshore wind
power plants. The protectors are applied
on the front edge of the blades as early as
the manufacturing process. This is an inhouse-development.

Do you see a maximum length for rotor
blades in the future?

The energy production of an 8-MW Siemens Gamesa machine is sufficient to supply electricity to some
8,000 European households ©Siemens Gamesa

N°116 October 2017

http://www.abo-wind.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017