Siemens Gamesa, the Spanish-German renewable energy giant, is ready to being testing its first B115 wind turbine blades in Aalborg, Denmark. Measuring 115 meters long, the blades will be used as part of the company’s next generation offshore wind turbine, the SG 14-236 DD.
So, just how big is 115 meters? Let’s put it this way. A Boeing 747 has a wingspan of 64.5 meters, so one of these blades is nearly twice as long as the length tip to tip of the wings of one of the world’s largest airplanes. Put three of them together to make a wind turbine and their diameter is 236 meters, with a total swept area of a staggering 43,500 square meters. For those of you in the colonies, that is 775 feet and nearly 11 acres, respectively. In other words, this new wind turbine is enormous!
Using the company’s IntegralBlade technology, the massive blades are cast in one piece from fiberglass reinforced epoxy. This method improves blade strength and reliability as it eliminates the need for the glued joints that create weak points in the blade. Siemens Gamesa is using a new resin that makes the blades more recyclable. When the turbine is decommissioned at the end of its useful life, the blade materials can be separated and recycled into new applications.
We have now started production of the first B115 blades in Aalborg, Denmark. The 115-meter long blade is available as standard IntegralBlade and will also be produced using our unique RecyclableBlade technology. #Leadingtheoffshorerevolution#Strongwindsofchange pic.twitter.com/tB8ss5Jb0n
— Siemens Gamesa (@SiemensGamesa) March 31, 2022
Siemens Gamesa tells DesignBoom the SG 14-236 DD is the next step in the energy transition from traditional fossil fuels to renewables. It delivers 30% more Annual Energy Production compared to its predecessor, the SG 11.0-200 DD.
Each SG 14-236 DD can generate up to 15 megawatts of electricity and features a High Wind Ride Through system that stabilizes and protects the turbine when wind speeds get too high.
The first B115 blades will be tested on a SG 14-236 DD prototype that will be installed later this year in Oesterild, Denmark. Watch the video below to see how these enormous wind turbines are assembled at sea, an amazing engineering process in its own right.
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