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Chicago, Ill.-based Invenergy is installing three of GE's new 2.5-120 turbines at the Goldthwaite Wind Energy facility presently under construction in Mills County, Texas. The largest in GE's line, they feature wind blades 60m/197-ft long and a new, onboard short-term battery storage system, which enables energy storage during peak generation. Source | GE Wind Energy Source | GE Wind Energy Keith Longtin, general manager, wind product line, for GE's renewable energy business, says the company has increased the capacity factor of its current turbines to more than 50 percent, up from roughly 35 percent 10 years ago. Longtin reports that GE sold more than 1,000 of its 100m/328-f diameter 1.6-MW 1.6-100 wind turbines in 2012 — all installed in the U.S. Tis turbine has a capacity factor of roughly 53 percent. Te turbine's 48.7m/159.8f blades are E-glass/epoxy sandwich constructions with a hybrid core that comprises balsa wood and PVC and SAN foams. Each blade weighs approximately 10 metric tonnes (22,000 lb), has a root diameter of 2.5m/8.2 f and a chord width of 3.5m/11.5 f. More recently, Invenergy (Chicago, Ill.) became the frst company to purchase GE's new 2.5-120 series turbine. Te turbine is equipped with 60m/197-f long blades and has a capacity factor of more than 50 percent in low-wind conditions. Invenergy purchased three of the 2.5-MW turbines, which will be installed as part of Goldthwaite Energy Center, an 86-turbine facility under construction in Mills County, Texas. GE says the turbine is the frst to integrate short-term battery storage and sofware that enables power producers to store short-term surges in power during peak wind conditions. Tis onboard system eliminates the need for more costly ofine, farm-level battery storage systems. Longtin reports that one of the company's strategies for reducing variability and costs in the ramp up to bigger blades is a standardized design and manufacturing process, which facilitates scalability of composite layups. Te company also collaborates with its suppliers to fnd ways to enhance automation. For example, one of the company's suppliers, TPI Composites, which manufactures rotor blades for GE's turbines at its plant in Newton, Iowa, reports using hydraulic power hinges to assemble blade halves. Te hinges have eliminated the need for fip fxtures for skin demolding, resulting in signifcant reductions in assembly time. TPI manufactures blades using the Seamann Composites (Gulfport, Miss.) Resin Infusion Molding Process (SCRIMP), in which feed lines, vacuum lines and embossed distribution channels are integrated into a reusable vacuum bag to reduce setup time and improve process repeatability. design for manufacture Building ever-larger rotor blades using the same or similar production methods and materials is a strategy now subject to the law of diminishing returns: Te increase in the weight of, and loads borne by, longer turbine blades outpaces the increases in power capacity. Turbine manufacturers, therefore, are vigorously investigating optimized designs, lighter materials and more efcient manufacturing processes to reduce blade weight and cost. Custom molder Molded Fiberglass Cos. (Ashtabula, Ohio) manufactures spinner nosecones, which ft over the rotor hub, by vacuum infusion from E-glass and polyester. Company VP Carl LaFrance says greater collaboration between suppliers and blade manufacturers is a must if the industry is to reduce system costs and compete with other sources of power. CT oCTober 2013 Better design and 31