Turbines of the Year 2020: Rotor blades

Producing longer, lighter units using existing production facilities is a key consideration

by Eize de Vries 12 January 2021

Aerovide 111-metre blade鈥 The blade is a third-party design that will be adapted and optimised to suit specific client wishes

MEDAL WINNER

GOLD 111-metre Aerovide ae 14.0-111.0 blade for 11-15MW turbine

Renowned German consultancy Aerovide (formerly aerodyn energiesysteme) in May 2020 announced it was working on the world鈥檚 longest rotor blade for the upcoming 11-15MW offshore class 鈥 at 111 metres.
Development of the ae 14.0-111.0 started in 2018, building on the firm鈥檚 30-year experience in designing third-party blades for onshore and offshore application.

The product is at pre-design stage 鈥 no mould is available yet 鈥 and initially optimised for 14MW high-wind IEC TC IB concepts with a 228-metre rotor. The final blades will be adapted and optimised for turbine-specific aspects such as rated power, IEC-class and blade connection diameter.

The blade represents a modern structural concept and technology evolution of smaller designs with a focus on limiting overall risk and achieving competitive LCoE performance, according to the company.

The 69.8-tonne blade mass is claimed to be 鈥渁t least comparable鈥 with scaling 107-metre Haliade-X blades to 111m. The composite structure features four hybrid CFRE-GFRE spar caps as structural reinforcements to prevent buckling, alongside optimised use of expensive carbon.

The focus was on using proven state-of-the-art blade materials and manufacturing technologies that would minimise time to market, future supply chain problems and manufacturing infrastructure risks. The company is currently developing four 10MW-class turbines for Asian clients, with all prototypes expected to be up next year.

Aerovide鈥檚 111-metre blade will be installed on 14MW-15MW high-wind and 11MW-12+MW low-/medium-wind turbines. First prototypes are expected in 2022-2023.