To read the article, please click on the following link:
Zoltek's Take: While this article deals primarily with Offshore turbines, it's interesting to note the section of the article that deals with blade length and turbine efficiency. In fact, the article states, "The trend is clear: The wind industry will continue to push the bounds of its abilities and explore new avenues to build larger blades." We have been saying this for years and it's great to see that we're not the only ones who understand the advantages of longer blades and how carbon fibers enable the increase in blade length. Also noted in the article is that "using additional carbon fiber in blades that measure 50 meters or greater could reduce blade mass by about one-third." The trend is bigger and we continue to believe that our carbon fibers will be a major enabler of the large growth in blade lengths.