Utilization of Isotruss Technology in Taller Wind Turbine Towers

70465 Two trends are creating the demand for taller wind towers: (1) the desire to access stronger winds for all sizes of turbines, and (2) the utilization of larger MW turbines, which necessitates longer rotor lengths. However, the construction, shipment, and installation of the large and heavy steel tower sections make current tower designs impractical for increased heights. These costs rise exponentially with the height of the tower. For example, for an 85m tower, these costs can be $382,000 for a 1.5 MW turbine. However, the same variables for a 5 MW turbine, 165M tower can be over $3,000,000. This project will design, analyze, and test a new technology for constructing taller support towers for wind turbines that overcomes the current crane and transportation limitations. The resulting analyses and test results will be compared to traditional steel towers to determine manufacturing, erection, and overall costs for wind turbine tower options. Phase I will design and analyze a patented carbon fiber geometry design for use in high (86 to 156 meter) wind turbine support towers. A cost analysis will be used to compare the new technology with steel for 1.5 MW to 5 MW wind turbine towers. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Compared to 5 MW turbine steel towers, the new technology should lower tower costs by 53%, allowing higher towers to be built.