The UK showed how serious they are about leading the way in wind energy production. With a committed government providing three wind (offshore) energy companies with generous grants, they will now lay claim to the world’s biggest wind farm (soon to be under construction), generated wind energy, and now the largest wind turbine blades.
One of the three companies,Clipper Windpower, will receive a grant to build a prototype for the enormous blades. Clipper’s HQ is in California and they have a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They also have a location in London which probably served them well in this deal.
Each–yes, each–blade will be approximately 70 meters long and weigh over 30 tons. The blades will go on the turbines that stand about 200 meters tall. For a point of reference, take a look at this blade made by Vestas last year. At one time, this was the largest blade used for wind energy in the world….
