Wind turbine with record-breaking rotors
Monday, July 30, 2012 - 09:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Siemens has produced the world's longest rotor blades for wind turbines. Measuring 75 meters in length, the blades are almost as big as the wingspan of an Airbus A380. Beginning this fall, the B75 rotor blades will be installed into a prototype six-megawatt offshore wind power system in Denmark's Østerild test station. As it moves, each rotor covers 18,600 square meters, which is the size of two and a half soccer fields. The tips of the blades move at up to 80 meters per second, or 290 kilometers per hour. The huge rotor was made possible by special technologies that enable Siemens to make extremely strong yet lightweight structures.