U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced US$ 125 million across 41 cutting-edge energy technologies awarded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). One of the projects is the development of a 50MW wind turbine.
The team led by the University of Virginia will design a 50MW wind turbine featuring downwind morphing to reduce blade loads and allow ultralight segmented blades. They will also build and field test an aeroelastically-scaled version to demonstrate this novel technology. The 50MW turbine design could enable a 10x increase in power compared to today’s largest production turbines. The 200-meter long blades can be fabricated in five to seven segments, and assembled at the point of use. The hurricane-resistant design can enable low-cost, off-shore wind energy for the USA. The team will receive a total of US$ 3.57 million for their project.
