Funded: Full-Scale Self-Assembling Wind Turbine System

These innovative modular wind turbines assemble themselves section by section, eliminating the need for large cranes and promising to cut offshore wind installation costs by up to half. New funding has launched the initial project.

Today’s wind turbines are colossal, ranking among humanity’s largest machines. Increasing their size offers greater potential value through longer blades.

Challenges of Scale in Wind Turbine Installation

However, their immense scale comes with significant costs—not just in materials, but also in logistics and installation. This includes the cranes required, especially since the heaviest component of a conventional wind turbine is the generator atop the tower.

With these towers now towering hundreds of feet high, consider the crane ship required to lift and stabilize a 20-plus megawatt generator up there. In fact, rather than imagining, take a look:

The expenses can be exorbitant, with certain operations feasible only in the most ideal, level conditions. This often results in equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per day idling and awaiting suitable conditions.

Several innovative ‘climbing crane‘ designs are emerging to address this challenge, both onshore and offshore, and they are visually impressive. However, directly attaching the crane to the turbine tower requires strengthening the tower to withstand the uneven loads.

WindSpider Design

In contrast, the WindSpider design circumvents this issue by constructing its own scaffold around the tower in stages, where a small crane unit is then mounted. This approach allows the system to be compatible with various existing wind turbine designs and scalable to accommodate towers of different sizes. While a crane ship is still necessary, it can be a relatively compact one in comparison.

Another intriguing feature is the “blade tool.” Wind turbine blades are lightweight and tailored for optimal wind capture, often installed in some of the windiest locations globally. Maneuvering these blades with a standard crane rope can be a precarious task.

The WindSpider’s blade tool attaches to the scaffold, securely stabilizing the blade as it ascends to the top. Once there, it maintains the blade in position during attachment to the nacelle, even in high winds.

The company asserts significant savings not only in installation costs but also in ongoing maintenance and repairs over the turbine’s lifespan.

The Norwegian company has recently secured funding from Innovation Norway to advance the aluminum lifting solution, control system, and simulator. According to a press release, “The project marks the commencement of constructing the initial full-scale WindSpider system unit,” which could potentially become one of the tallest cranes globally.

We eagerly anticipate witnessing these innovations in action, especially as offshore wind energy strives to lower costs amid the global shift toward clean energy.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

Read more: Sea-Bed Air Batteries Offer Affordable, Long-Term Energy Storage