SgurrControl has completed two years of testing and validating its advanced turbine load alleviation system (Atlas), which aims to extend the life of wind turbines by reducing blade and drive train loads.
The company said that onsite testing shows the potential of the system to double blade fatigue life.
Atlas works by pitching the blades independently so that they respond actively to the varying wind field across the rotor, SgurrControl said.
It was deployed on the University of Minnesota’s test turbine – a 2.5MW Clipper C96 – the company said.
The project was funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, it added.
SgurrControl partnered with Romax Technology on the project.
SgurrControl director David Robb said: “Atlas can be retrofitted to existing wind turbines to significantly extend their life, or the technology can be integrated into the design phase of new wind turbines to reduce costs by 5% for a 3MW wind turbine.”
Image: Morgue File
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By EBS