A new testing facility for wind turbines will soon be built by General Electric in the United Kingdom, and is expected to help improve their technology, making them more reliable and cost-effective.
Designed for its ability to fully test nacelles, the housing that contains components of a turbine including generators and gearboxes, the testing facility is being constructed at the National Renewable Energy Centre in the parish of Blyth in southeast England.
Built with the overall intent to speed up the development time of systems, the testing facility is more than 100 feet high and can contain all testing of nacelles, including for performance and endurance.
The installation, which has passed design stages and will soon begin construction, contains a magnet motor that can create more than 20,000 horsepower, which is equal to the 150 cars’ engines.
Looking to the past as well as the future
General Electric’s facility is finishing its design stages just as a new study by the Scottish Natural Heritage, which is responsible for the country’s natural diversity, regards how outdated turbines should be treated when they become out of commission.
In twenty years, the study says, almost 225,000 tons of turbines’ rotor blades will need to be recycled in areas around the world.
By looking at how turbines are decommissioned and how sites can be recycled or restored, especially as the material used to build them is improved upon and made more efficient in time, the report determined the best ways for the turbines’ material to be recycled and reused.
Sales of second-hand turbines, which cost 40 percent less than newly-made turbines, were seen as the most likely form of recycling, as they are in demand for both small communities and rapidly-growing markets in areas including Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Focus on both improving and recycling turbines makes the importance of properly testing components clear, as new methods can extend service life and reduce maintenance costs.