Aerodynamic loads produced by large, sporadic wind gusts represent one of the most significant installed and operating cost drivers and performance-limiting factors in wind turbine design and operations. The predominant design approach to-date in the wind power industry has been to develop turbines that endure damaging loads. Current wind turbine control technologies, including variable speed and variable pitch (VSVP) that were introduced over 25 years ago, are slow to react to rapid changes in wind conditions, such as gusts. The existing paradigm has reached its limits in terms of progress in winds Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). As the industry shifts towards deployment of a new generation of rotors that exceed 100m in diameter in order to economically develop lower average wind speed sites, the COE challenge compounds. The proposed projects active load alleviation or smart blade technology changes the wind turbine control paradigm by sensing and mitigating loads 20 to 40 times faster than current wind turbine systems. The smart blades work by manipulating local airflow about the blade of a wind turbine. This technology approach enables wind turbines to achieve higher capacity factors without significantly affecting blade mass and costs, by reducing turbine structural loads, thus allow for the use of larger more productive rotors in the full range of potential wind sites. The Company, a US small business, is the leader in the development of active load alleviation systems having undertaken the worlds most extensive program to advance smart blade technology, including a multi-year effort consisting of aerodynamic simulation, wind tunnel testing and a prototype field test on a MW-class wind turbine at a commercial wind farm in the Upper Mid-Western US. The research to-date has validated the effectiveness of its active load alleviation approach, including its sensing and aerodynamic load reduction capabilities. The objective of the proposed project is to leverage the Companys experience to-date, and develop and field test the worlds first commercialization-ready active load alleviation systems that meets the full range of industry requirements, including reliability and turbine integration objectives. This Phase I project will include design, fabrication and validation of key system components and blade integration processes. Phase II will incorporate lab testing as well as design, fabrication, installation and field testing of a system at a representative wind turbine test site. The US DOEs 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report states that one of its primary wind technology objectives is increasing capacity factors by placing larger rotors on taller towers this can be achieved economically only by using lighter components and load-mitigating rotors). The previous VSVP control technologies have been universally adopted by the major wind turbine manufacturers and have supported the cumulative investment of over $125 Billion in >60 GW of current wind power capacity. The commercialization of the proposed project technology will allow for economic development of wind generation facilities in the widely available lower average wind speed sites by enabling a new generation of larger wind turbine rotors. Analysis performed for the project application indicates that the wind projects utilizing the project technology installed over the 1st decade of commercialization will yield LCOE saving over 10,000 times the cost of Phase I >$1.7 Billion in cumulative savings) over their operating lives.
