There’s only one thing bigger than big: HUGE. General Electric is now planning to build a huge wind turbine that will generate a maximum of 15 megawatts of electricity, their biggest yet.
Currently, GE already has the biggest land wind turbine, but this one will generate six times the power of the first, and it will be the largest land-based model, outperforming the current 2.5-megawatt.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated $3 million for designing the huge wind turbine. It will be a direct-drive turbine (these are more reliable than those with a gearbox) that will generate its 15 megawatts using superconducting magnets and lightweight materials.
The second phase of the two-year project is expected to release working models onto the market, so by 2013 or 2014 power companies will be able to purchase the model.
[via bloomberg]
