GE WIND GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE

Photos: Is GE’s Space Frame Tower the Future of Wind Power? GE goes back to the roots of wind power—but with a twist

Herman K. Trabish, March 7, 2014 (Greentech Media)

“…GE's new space frame wind turbine tower…[is an] enclosed-lattice, five-legged space frame prototype…[It] is 97 meters tall with a "brilliant" GE 1.7-megawatt, 100-meter rotor turbine on top…Open-lattice towers were used for early utility-scale wind turbines, often with poor results. Bolts frequently rattled loose, leading to structural failures, and birds took up perches in the structures, leading to significant rates of avian mortality…In searching for a way to cut costs, GE engineers returned to the lattice concept. But the space frame eliminates danger to avian species by enclosing the lattice with a translucent, non-weight-bearing, UV-protected PVC-polyester fabric coating…The new design also uses splined bolts, which eliminates the risk of structural failure…The space frame’s 10-meter-diameter base will allow a 120-meter-tall tower to use 20 percent to 30 percent less steel than a traditional 100-meter-tall tube tower…” click here for more

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