The main scope of this report is for production of the next generation of turbine blades with reduced environmental impact, and with the next generation of recyclable materials in the manufacturing process. Part 1 of this report contained a desk-based benchmarking study into the opportunities for low carbon manufacture of turbine blades, which outlines the current state-of-the-art and explores some concepts for the immediate future of blade manufacturing in the Southwest. It explored the current state-of-the-art in terms of cost modelling for a standard reference blade (15MW) and suggests short term improvements.

The report also provided a reference case for the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) along with a literature review on recyclability and sets the scene by introducing the different manufacturing variants which will be the focus of this report.  This is the second of a two-part report which sets out to highlight future opportunities in blade manufacturing and to identify areas of potential cost saving, and to elaborate on the different manufacturing scenarios to determine any potential cost benefit.

Link:  CFAR-OREC-Report 2-Manuafacturing Variants and Future Steps