PES is delighted to welcome Gregor Gnaedig to the magazine to discuss the advances that his company, Modular Wind Energy, has been making in the rotor blade sector. A global veteran of the energy industry for more than 20 years, Gregor joined the company last year as it emerged from Research and Development into the serial production stage of its revolutionary divided rotor blades. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer of REpower Systems SE.
PES: Welcome to the magazine. Before we get on to the main issues of the day, would you like to introduce your company and explain your role within the wind industry?
Gregor Gnaedig: We are a global supplier of turbine blades. Our blades are unique because they are built in small segments called modules and made from our own high performance composite. Our ModBlade solves various problems for wind turbine manufacturers as they demand larger blades to increase energy production and lower costs. Our company was founded in 2008 by innovators from the aerospace sector. While we are a relatively young company, 2012 was a very big year for us as we saw our blades get certification from GL and we received our first commercial orders.
PES: Can you explain a little about your company’s individual approach to blade construction, and the resulting advantages?
GG: Our approach is to achieve the highest possible energy production and cost savings from a given platform and, thus optimisation of the blades is critical. This includes the traditional disciplines of aerodynamic and structural performance, as well as material selection, design concept selection, and consideration of logistics and manufacturing constraints. We feel that our approach has given us a few key advantages over traditional blade manufacturing.
Our pultrusion composite is very high quality and eliminates many of the defects common in conventional blades, such as dry glass and wrinkles. The lower mass of our spar means that our blades weigh 15%-20% less, enabling us to add length without a weight penalty. Lastly, because our blades are built in modular pieces, we can save up to 80% of the costs associated with ground transportation and build our blades in standard, leased warehouses – not expensive custom blade factories.
