iowa eyes concrete to blow past 27 percent wind power mark

8/12/2019 Iowa Eyes Concrete to Blow Past 27 Percent Wind Power Mark

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Iowa Eyes Concrete toBlow Past 27% WindPower Mark

We were just talking about GEs new taller wind turbine tower, which will hit the marketnext week at a whopping 139 meters, whenalong comes the latest American WindEnergy Association wind power reportshowing that the great state of Iowa now getsabout 27 percent of its electricity from wind.With the tallest turbine in Iowa reaching only94 meters, imagine whats going to happen toIowa wind power production when taller windturbine towers get into the ground.

Now, heres where it gets interesting. We hada great sneak peek at GEs new taller windturbine tower earlier this week, and while wewere talking with the folks over there thesubject of taller wind turbine towers made withconcrete came up. It just so happens Iowa ishome to at least two of the larger cementplants in the US (concrete is cement mixedwith an aggregate), so lets take a quick lookback at what we learned from GE in terms of materials and the cost of wind power.

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Wind turbine in Iowa by i nkknife_2000 .

Low Cost Wind Power AndTaller Wind TurbineTowers

Our visit to GE took us to the Mohave desert,where the company has built a 97-meter prototype (limited to 97 by FAA regulations) for the 139-meter commercial version of its newSpace Frame steel turbine tower. One keytakeaway from our conversation there was theinfluence of factors on the cost of wind power other than the efficiency of the turbine itself.

In terms of the wind turbine tower, those other factors include raw materials, shipping, andlabor, all of which can curtail height to cost-effective dimensions.

Within the shipping costs you also find awhole tangle of complications. One key factor there is the configuration of roads, bridges,and tunnels.

Thats why, GE pointed out to us, youre notgoing to see much in the way of tubular-stylewind turbine towers with a base larger thanthe current standard. Right now, the industryis conforming to the size of components thatcan get from point A to point B on a flatbedhauler, and with the size of the base curtailed,youre not going to gain much in height fromhere on out.

Thats where GEs solution comes in. Its asteel space frame (thats an engineering termfor latticework) tower and instead of coming ina tube it has five distinct sides that areassembled on site. It can be flatpacked for transit, and the whole thing fits into standard

shipping containers.

Another solution already on the market is tobuild all or part of the tower from concrete,though given the logistics involved withconcrete thats not a one-size-fits-all solution.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23155134@N06/10807081323/sizes/z/http://cleantechnica.com/2014/03/07/iowa-taller-wind-turbine-towers-from-concrete/iowa-wind-power-2/


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Tags: concretewind turbinetowers , Iowa wind power , taller windturbine towers

About the Author

Tina Casey Tina Caseyspecializes in military andcorporate sustainability,advanced technology,emerging materials, biofuels,

and water and wastewater issues. Tinasarticles are reposted frequently on Reuters,Scientific American, and many other sites. You

can also follow her on Twitter @TinaMCaseyand Google+ .

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iowa eyes concrete to blow past 27 percent wind power mark

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