In America, the philosophy of, “bigger is better,” relates as much to renewable energy innovation as it does to steaks and cowboy hats.
Testing is underway on the Eco 100, a behemoth wind turbine built by French company Alstom for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of its mission to achieve a national wind energy target of 20 percent by 2030. Alstom already have 27 Eco 100s operating in France, but the monster turbine is yet to be certified in the USA.
The Eco 100 is one of the biggest wind turbines in the world, soaring 90 metres above the ground, sporting three enormous blades, each measuring 50 metres in length. The nacelle, or hub of the spinning turbine, which contains the gear box and other instruments weighs over 95 tons. A single Eco 100 produces three megawatts (MW) of wind power.
Successful test results would have ongoing benefits for both Alstom – who paid for the construction of the turbine, and stand gain a new customer for their largest wind generator – and for the US government, who have secured a cooperative research and development agreement with the company, which includes a deal for Alstom to build a manufacturing plant for building the nacelles in Amarillo, Texas.
With powerful mountain winds, the NREL’s National Wind Technology Center provides the perfect environment for putting new wind energy technology through its paces, measuring inflow directions, wind speeds and voltage output.
Both the NREL and the NWTC come under the administrative umbrella of the US Department of Energy. DOE’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy, Steve Chalk says the Eco 100 and deals like the Alstom partnership are examples of, “investments that will really pay off down the line. It means NREL will continue to attract the best scientists, and that will lower the cost of renewable energy.”
As mentioned, the 3 megawatt Eco 100 isn’t the largest wind turbine in the world – a Sinovel 6MW wind turbine prototype has been produced and under development are the 10MW Aerogenerator X and a project to build Azimut – a 15MW turbine..
