Long blades for low wind

摘要

So far, wind turbines have been set up primarily in places with quite strong winds. In order to keep up with the growing demand at inland locations with rather low wind speeds, the manufacturers have already come up with quite a few superlatives.rnOn a global scale, the expansion of wind power utilization is still mainly proceeding at locations where the wind potential is excellent and a suitable grid infrastructure is available. At the same time, there is an increasing interest in using wind power in places that were either not the first choice or not profitable previously. On the one hand, this includes countries with only very few wind-exposed sites. On the other hand, in countries such as Germany, the top locations have been fully occupied for years. If one asks internationally active wind experts or planners, they all agree that the market for low or medium-wind sites is clearly on the rise. This assessment is also shared by the big manufacturers of wind turbines, who use analyses of their own as well as customer surveys to find out where the development will be heading in the years to come, and develop new turbines accordingly.