Examining the Increasing Size of Onshore Wind Turbine Rotors

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, national laboratories, and industry, Nick Johnson and a panel of researchers from NREL discussed new, innovative technologies that maximize the advantages of large-scale rotors and their potential for increased energy generation. This work as part of the Department of Energy's Big Adaptive Rotor project aims to create the next generation of land-based wind turbines with 206-meter rotors, which will increase capacity factors by 10% or more over a typical land-based turbine. This webinar addressed the challenges associated with increasing rotor size for onshore wind turbines, which has contributed to substantial reductions in the cost of wind energy, and the feasibility of these large rotors and the design, modeling, and controls advances needed to enable these technologies to further drive down wind energy costs.