Supersize wind blades 'will be modular or made on-site’

Next-generation wind turbine blades for the US market will need to be modular or manufactured on-site if the technology is to keep pace with the continued up-scaling of onshore machines, according to a new report looking into the “logistical cost and capability ceiling” of supersize land-based designs.

“As turbine component sizes increase, logistical constraints can either reduce the number of developable sites or elevate costs, which can make some potential sites economically uncompetitive, said the authors of the study, published by DNV GL for the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).