Jul
6
How To Restart A Grid Full Of Wind Turbines
July 6, 2022 | Leave a Comment
An Iowa State University team is now working to develop strategies and controllers that would reenergize power grids dominated by wind power. When electric grids go down, there’s no way to restore them – ‘blackstart’ them – with power from wind turbines. In Iowa, wind turbines now produce 55% of the state’s electricity. It used […]
Dec
23
More Work On Keeping Wind Energy Useful
December 23, 2020 | Leave a Comment
Researchers have reported to the American Physical Society that as wind energy scales up, researchers better able to study the fluid dynamics challenges. Twenty years ago, wind energy was mostly a niche industry that contributed less than 1% to the total electricity production in the United States. Wind has since emerged as a serious contender […]
Jun
25
Owl Based Study Shows How to Make Silent Wind Turbines
June 25, 2015 | 6 Comments
University of Cambridge researchers have devised a new material that mimics the wing structure of owls which could help make wind turbines, computer fans and even planes much quieter. Early wind tunnel tests of the coating have shown a substantial reduction in noise without any noticeable effect on aerodynamics. Because wind turbines are heavily braked […]
May
14
Researchers at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have built a new type of steel blade for wind turbines formed from a 1.0 mm steel sheet and featuring integrated, folded reinforcement. Today’s wind turbines use very large rotor blades made with fiber-reinforced plastics that are almost impossible to recycle. But steel blades recycling ability exceeds 90 percent. Plus they cost […]