Month: September 2019

Concrete Wind Tower Prototype

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Concrete Wind Tower Prototype

The Adam’s County Concrete Wind Tower Prototype is the largest landbased wind turbine ever built in the United States. At 379 feet from ground to hub, the concrete turbine is over 100 feet taller than neighboring steelconstructed turbines. This prototype 2.415-megawatt concrete turbine enables MidAmerican Energy to evaluate the amount of additional wind energy that can be generated at higher altitudes. Construction of the tower began in August 2015 and proved to be an entirely different process than constructing a steel tower turbine. Instead of manufacturing tower sections in a factory and transporting them, crews poured the concrete in segments to erect the tower onsite. [Read More]

The Adam’s County Concrete Wind Tower Prototype is the largest landbased wind turbine ever built in the United States. At 379 feet from ground to hub, the concrete turbine is over 100 feet taller than neighboring steelconstructed turbines.

This prototype 2.415-megawatt concrete turbine enables MidAmerican Energy to evaluate the amount of additional wind energy that can be generated at higher altitudes. Construction of the tower began in August 2015 and proved to be an entirely different process than constructing a steel tower turbine. Instead of manufacturing tower sections in a factory and transporting them, crews poured the concrete in segments to erect the tower onsite. [Read More]

Siemens Introduces Concrete Tower Technology to Reduce Energy Costs

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Siemens Introduces Concrete Tower Technology to Reduce Energy Costs

Siemens has announced the commercial launch of a concrete wind turbine tower technology that places turbines in stronger winds at higher altitudes – resulting in more potential energy production and increased project revenue for customers. This technology is part of an ongoing commitment to using innovation to expand wind power in the United States and around the globe.

Siemens partnered with Wind Tower Technologies of Boulder, CO, for engineering and construction methodologies. A unique feature of this patented tower system is the on-site match casting of annular precast tower segments, eliminating the need to grout the joints or provide other special surface treatments between tower sections. [Read More]

Wind Turbines Going higher Thanks to Advanced Concrete Technology

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Wind Turbines Going higher Thanks to Advanced Concrete Technology

The vast majority of wind turbines we see in the United States are supported by steel towers, with hub heights (the elevation of the rotor axis) which typically do not exceed 90 m. The main reason for the height limitation is that the base of the steel tower cannot exceed 4.5m in diameter due to transportation limitations. Higher towers produce bigger moments at the base and demand larger base diameters. Alternatively, one can increase the wall thickness, but this is not very effective. Solutions do exist, where the steel towers are constructed segmentally both in the transverse and longitudinal directions. They are not very popular because of the added effort of putting them together on the field, their added sensitivity to fatigue, and their low stiffness. Nevertheless, they do exist. [Read More]

The vast majority of wind turbines we see in the United States are supported by steel towers, with hub heights (the elevation of the rotor axis) which typically do not exceed 90m.

 The main reason for the height limitation is that the base of the steel tower cannot exceed 4.5m in diameter due to transportation limitations. Higher towers produce bigger moments at the base and demand larger base diameters. Alternatively, one can increase the wall thickness, but this is not very effective. Solutions do exist, where the steel towers are constructed segmentally both in the transverse and longitudinal directions. They are not very popular because of the added effort of putting them together on the field, their added sensitivity to fatigue, and their low stiffness. Nevertheless, they do exist. [Read More]

Concrete Tower Reduces Energy Cost

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Concrete Tower Reduces Energy Cost

Siemens Introduces Concrete Wind Tower ...educe Energy Costs - Power Engineering

Siemens has announced the commercial launch of a concrete wind turbine tower technology that places turbines in stronger winds at higher altitudes – resulting in more potential energy production and increased project revenue for customers. This technology is part of an ongoing commitment to using innovation to expand wind power in the United States and around the globe.

Siemens partnered with Wind Tower Technologies of Boulder, CO, for engineering and construction methodologies. A unique feature of this patented tower system is the on-site match casting of annular precast tower segments, eliminating the need to grout the joints or provide other special surface treatments between tower sections. [Read More]

Higher Wind Towers on the Rise

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Higher Wind Towers on the Rise

A U.S. record high wind tower (hub height of 115 m [377 ft]) was recently commissioned in Adams County, IA. This new tower system is 100% fabricated on-site allowing for almost unrestricted tower base diameter and tower height limited only by zoning permits and erection equipment. [Read More]

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