Wind Turbine Blade R&D

AASI executed a USDOE-funded R&D and Demonstration (RDD) project in 2003 – 2005 to develop a novel manufacturing process for all-composite blades for small wind turbines using High Compression Bladder Molded Prepreg (HCBMP), and to test the resulting blade sets on wind turbines at AASI’s 14-turbine Palm Springs, CA windplant.

Ed Salter designed the blade. Quatro Composites, Poway, CA designed and built the tooling and three sets of blades which were tested at AASI’s windplant of 14, 50 kW turbines. Two sets of HCBMP remain in service, performing well.

Video of Palm Springs windplant, 2008.

Proof-of-Concept Manufacturing and Testing of Composite Wind Generator Blades Made by HCBMP (High Compression Bladder Molded Prepreg)
Final Technical Report for the U.S. Department of Energy
Grant Number DE-FG36-03GO13140
Reporting Period: 10/01/2003 – 03/31/2005