Germany Unleashes World’s Toughest Wind Turbines

[AllanY2525]

With the loss of jobs at Lordstown, I had a pipe dream:

Get some of the Alternative Energy portion of the financial bailout funds and
invest it into the Mahoning Valley - QUICK.  The layoffs at Lordstown are just
another call to arms to get SOME kind of hi tech, and manufacturing jobs for
the area.

My "pipe dream" for this bailout money would be some type of collaborative
project between Y.S.U.'s engineering department, General Motors, and maybe
turning technologies for operating software and NorthStar Steel for manufacturing
large and structural parts for the turbines.

The goal of the project: to design, test and then produce locally, wind turbines
and solar electric panels.  NorthStar Steel might be retooled and/or expanded to
manufacture the larger components of the turbines, etc.  A wiring plant could be
opened to wind the armatures and coils for the generators, along with a host of
other smaller shops to provide the smaller parts.  There is some kind of machine
tool and die operation down on Logan Avenue - it could design and build parts.

Final assembly could be done in Lordstown, using some of the shuttered assembly
plant there.  The potential for new, sustainable jobs is there.  In order to bring
money and jobs back to the Mahoning Valley, the valley must come up with
products and services that can be sold everywhere else - a micro version of an
"export economy" that will start sucking in money from customers all over the
world. 

If GM isn't selling any cars, they DAMN sure should take some of that bailout
money and start building something that people WILL buy.  Now is the time for
the U.S. to jump into alternative energy technologies - and then sell them in the
international market as well as here at home and establish ourselves as a major
player in this market.


Anyway....none of this will ever happen, but isn't it nice to dream once in
a while?

[irishbobcat]

Germany Unleashes World's Toughest Wind Turbines
Written by Ariel Schwartz
The first turbines designed specifically for offshore wind energy are finally ready for deployment in Germany after 10 years of development. Areva's turbines are waterproofed, light, and have a simplified design— meaning they are easy to install and maintain. At full power, each 5MW turbine can supply enough energy for 5,000 homes.

·   » Read more on wind energy
The 120m blades are reinforced with carbon fiber to make them as light as possible, and all of the mechanisms needed to change their position are encased to prevent damage from sea air. In case of technical failure, sensors and power management systems are installed in duplicate.
Additionally, the turbine's generator and engineering components are hermetically sealed.
Areva plans on installing 6 of the 90m tall turbines as part of Germany's first offshore wind project, located 45km off the island of Borkum. The turbines should be completed by the end of this summer.

Will America continue to lag behind the rest of the world in Wind Turbine Energy?
Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party
www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/