The drive to test wind turbine blades: manufacturers across Europe are queuing up to test their latest wind turbine designs at a world-leading testing facility in northumberland

摘要

The new wind turbine blade testing facility at the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in Northumberland has officially opened, and manufacturers are already booking in their latest designs for static and fatigue testing, The facility, which has its own deep water dock, has been specially designed to handle the new longer blades being developed for offshore turbines and can test blades up to 70 metres (and more) - the only facility in the world with this capability Naturally, for such a cutting edge test-centre, the control system for the full amplitude static testing, which features a step-by-step bending of the blade, is equally cutting edge and comprises a series of winches under the coordinated control of drives from Control Techniques, the sole drives supplier at NaREC.