What’s claimed to be the world’s longest wind turbine blade was unveiled in Denmark last week.
Production of the 88.4 metre blade was a joint project of Adwen and LM Wind Power. The blade has been designed for Adwen’s AD 8-180, a wind turbine with 8MW nominal capacity and 180 meter rotor diameter.
“When you are building the largest wind turbine in the world, almost everything you do is an unprecedented challenge,” said Luis Álvarez, Adwen General Manager.
” We are going where no one else has ever gone before, pushing all the known frontiers in the industry.”
The next step is to ship the gargantuan component to Aalborg, where it will undergo rigorous testing.
Transporting the LM 88.4 P blade could also prove to be quite an interesting challenge.
Back in 2012, we reported on what was then the world’s largest wind turbine blade, manufactured by Siemens. It measured 75 metres in length and weighed 25 tonnes. To transport the blade to a wind farm 320 kilometres from the plant, a truck cranking 680 horsepower was used; traveling at a top speed 67 km/h.
LM Wind Power has been in the business of wind turbine blade manufacturing since 1978.
Over the past 38 years, it has built 185,000 blades in 13 factories spread across 4 continents. The company had more than 6,300 employees at the end of last year.
Its most recent plant to be brought into production is located at Vadodara in Gujarat, India. Inaugurated in April this year, the EUR 25 million facility employs 400 people and is focused on producing blades up to 60 meters in length.
It appears operating in the wind turbine blade sector can be a very tough gig. According to LM Wind Power’s Annual Report for 2015, the company achieved a net profit last year – the first time since 2009.
“We are confident that the future is bright for LM Wind Power and the wind industry,” said Marc de Jong, the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
” Wind remains one of the most economically attractive forms of renewable energy for large scale electricity generation and will develop further.”
Top Right Image Credit: BigStock
