Researchers gain funding for wind turbine drivetrain work

Drivetrains, which include a turbine’s gearbox and generator, are at the heart of the turbine and are responsible for producing electricity from the rotation of the blades.

The research and development projects will focus on reducing the cost of wind energy by increasing component reliability or redesigning drivetrains to eliminate the need for some components altogether.

For example, direct-drive generators eliminate the need for a gearbox, which reduces weight, eliminates moving parts and reduces maintenance costs. Increased component reliability means fewer operations and maintenance costs over the lifetime of a wind turbine.

Creating such a superconducting direct-drive generator for large wind turbines will be the goal of researchers at Palm Bay, Florida-based Advanced Magnet Lab, while engineers at Boulder, Colorado-based Boulder Wind Power will test a permanent magnet-based direct-drive generator to validate its performance and reliability in a large, utility-scale turbine.

Reducing maintenance costs is the aim of researchers at Carpinteria, California-based Clipper Windpower, who plan to develop and test a unique drivetrain that uses a chain drive rather than a gearbox. This proposed design may be more easily serviced than conventional gearboxes while being scalable to large-capacity turbines.