Wind Turbine Upgrade Marks Next Step in Alstom-NREL Research Effort

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A wind turbine for all seasons

With morning light creeping over the Rocky Mountains on January 23rd, two 340-foot cranes approached the Alstom ECO 100 wind turbine at the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Within days, the turbines three blades were resting at ground-level, replaced by longer, 175-foot blades that together make Alstoms turbine the largest and most powerful at the Boulder, Colorado facility.

Alstoms 3 MW ECO 100 wind platform can be adapted to increase power output in different wind conditions by varying the length of the rotor blades attached to its nacelle. When commissioned in April of 2011, Alstoms NREL research turbine featured a rotor optimized for high-speed wind. The recently-completed rotor exchange has upgraded the turbine to an ECO 110, which is ideally-suited to maximizing power output from intermediate wind speeds averaging 20 miles per hour (according to IEC Class II, 8.5 m/s). The 110 in the turbines name refers to the total swept diameter in meters covered by its rotor.

There is great potential for developing medium wind speed resources throughout the U.S. and Canada, according to Albert Fisas, Director of Innovation for Alstoms North American Wind business. With this upgrade complete, Alstom and NREL will launch a commissioning and testing program to certify the performance of the new rotor configuration for use in North America and worldwide.

According to a study conducted by NREL and AWS Truepower (*see citation below), there is more than 8,000 GW of IEC Class II wind energy potential with a greater than 35% capacity factor remaining in the U.S.

With its larger rotor and 3MW output rating, the ECO 110 is ideally suited for deployment in these areas because it allows wind projects to install fewer turbines over a smaller geographic footprint and still produce the same overall size and capacity factor as comparable projects using smaller, 1-2MW turbines.

In addition to enabling development of sites that may have previously been constrained by a lack of available land, the smaller number of turbine sites will also lower construction and material costs for projects.

Upgrading the turbine was a complex process that involved coordinating multiple suppliers and contractors. First, logistics were managed to transport the three new blades by sea, then over 1,100 miles by truck from Houston, Texas. Once delivered on-site, skilled technicians and crane operators executed the blade replacement. Throughout the effort, Alstom and NREL teams worked diligently to uphold the highest possible standards of safety.

Throughout our partnership, we have seen on multiple occasions how Alstoms institutional commitment to safety has meshed seamlessly with our own, remarked Fort Felker, Director of NRELs National Wind Technology Center. That shared focus on the health and well-being of our teams was again front-and-center during the recent blade replacement.

The upgrade to the ECO110 marks a continuation of Alstom and NRELs long-term collaborative R&D agreement, which started in 2010. As part of the original agreement, NREL has been working on a comparative study of Alstom's PURE TORQUE drivetrain design. Today, R&D activities have expanded to include advanced controls and offshore technologies. Testing and research takes place at NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) and is managed from Alstoms North American headquarters in Richmond, VA.

Resources:

New Wind Energy Resource Potential Estimates for the United States (Presentation) - NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) - Author(s): Elliott, D.; Schwartz, M.; Haymes, S.; Heimiller, D.; Scott, G.; Brower, M.; Hale, E.; Phelps, B.

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