Wind energy made many advances last year. The production of turbines and recycling methods have improved, as have pathways to bring more clean energy to the grid, including interconnection and offshore wind technology.
FREMONT, CA: Wind energy has seen several advancements in the past year. There is much to be grateful for, from better turbine manufacturing and recycling processes to pathways to connect additional renewable energy to the grid.
The U.S. DOE Wind Energy Technology Division has compiled a list of the year's most important wind energy news (WETO). It has been a year of continuous activity.
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Carbon Rivers Make Recycling and Upcycling of Wind Turbine Blades a Reality
Carbon Rivers, a business specializing in energy technologies, has commercialized a new method for recovering 99.9 percent pure glass fiber from decommissioned fiberglass wind turbine blades for use in new composite goods. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and WETO collaborated to achieve this achievement, which could impact wind energy sustainability globally. Materials that previously ended up in post-consumer waste streams could now be used to manufacture next-generation turbine blades.
Spiral welding is revolutionizing the manufacturing of wind turbine towers
Since they can reach quicker wind speeds at greater heights, taller land-based wind turbines capture and produce more energy than shorter ones. Using a spiral-welding technology to construct some of the tallest turbine towers on the market, Colorado- and Texas-based Keystone Tower Systems is transforming how wind turbines are produced, transported, and erected, with help from WETO.
Novel Initiative for Enhancing Sustainable Energy Connectivity
The wind, solar, and battery sector seeks grid connections worth over 1,300 gigawatts. Still, these projects face lengthy wait times and, in many cases, significant prices to upgrade and connect to the grid system.
With the help of research teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the DoE has launched the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange, a project to facilitate grid integration of clean energy resources. This will increase the grid's dependability and strengthen market competition, transmission, and distribution access.