High-performance fabric for wind turbine blades

As wind turbines spring up across the world, the search is underway to make sustainable wind power sources more efficient. Owens Corning, Toledo, Ohio, launches a high-performance fabric for wind turbine blades in January 2011 that will allow designers to remove a metric ton of weight from a 2.0 megawatt wind turbine that normally would use traditional E-glass blades. Ultrablade™ fabric finished with epoxy resin reduces spar weight by 18 percent; allows increase in blade length by 6 percent; improves blade stiffness up to 20 percent; decreases blade thickness to increase aerodynamic efficiency and generate higher torque; and reduces overall blade weight to ease the load on the turbine and tower, while enabling operation at lower wind speeds. The company is using distinctive pink stitching to market the product to buyers familiar with the “Pink Panther” Owens Corning brand.