The latest developments in blade pitch technology have opened new opportunities for wind turbine manufacturers. In this white paper, Mita-Teknik, one of the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of pitch systems, shares its view of the five key trends of this rapidly evolving technology. It also offers three important insights to keep in mind to make wise pitch system decisions, avoid pitfalls, and choose the right pitch partner.
Five key technology trends to watch
Preparing for the next energy storage revolution
Energy storage is one of the important elements of the pitch system. In the past, all electrical pitch systems used batteries. However, over the last few years, the cost of ultra-capacitors has come down, in large part due to their broad adoption by the automotive industry. Ultra-capacitors, which have the major advantage of much longer maintenance intervals, have progressively taken on traditional batteries. They are likely to entirely replace batteries within the next few years as they continue to be increasingly cost-competitive.
But even as ultra-capacitors are seemingly here to stay, energy storage technology is in such high-speed development that there is no telling what the next innovation will bring. Since energy storage systems are components that wear out relatively quickly, they might need to be replaced during the lifetime of the turbine by newer, more competitive products. For that reason, choosing a pitch system that has the flexibility to open up to different technologies for energy storage will bring you a long-term advantage.
