From the ground, wind-turbine blade rotation appears nearly effortless, as though the spinning is entirely propelled by air currents.
In reality, the movement and the force of the wind consume a large amount of energy, which East Greenwich’s Aquanis Inc. hopes to conserve by creating smart-blade technology.
Improving the blades’ aerodynamic performance would reduce the cost of wind energy, says company founder and CEO Neal Fine.
“What we’re doing is trying to reduce design loads,” Fine said. “If we can reduce that by 30%, that would be the equivalent of increasing annual energy production by 20% a year.”
Such an impact would be huge, Fine said, adding that the project’s success could potentially reduce the cost of wind energy by 15-20%.
Funded by a $3.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the project is one of a couple in the Ocean State that aim to better capture renewable energy through the use of engineering. ARPA-E grants are focused on promising renewable energy projects defined as high risk and high reward. Such projects are defined but not yet developed or tested enough for commercial use.
Researchers at Brown University received a $3.4 million ARPA-E grant in 2015 to develop an oscillating hydrofoil device to capture tidal energy. According to Brown, the devices were successfully tested, although the staff member in charge of the project is no longer at the school and couldn’t be reached, a Brown spokesman said.
At the University of Rhode Island, students and staff are working to collect data on water-velocity variations in order to better understand ocean power.
No one from the university was immediately available to comment, although staff members have led studies in wave and tidal power, and are hoping to do the same with offshore wind power, said URI spokesman Todd McLeish.
‘Smart-blade technology is giving the designers another control for their system.’
NEAL FINE, Aquanis CEO
Offshore wind power is a fertile market that Rhode Island has a competitive advantage in, says Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. He’s a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has a hand in deciding on funding for ARPA-E.
“The state is very well-positioned to be a leader in the field. We have the first offshore wind farm in the United States. … Rhode Island [has increased] its energy-related jobs by 74%,” Reed said. The R.I. Office of Energy Resources reports 16,021 clean-energy jobs now in the state.
“It’s really the future, if you look at renewables rather than hydrocarbons,” Reed added.
At Aquanis, a team of three is currently working on creating electrical plasma actuators that will allow blades and turbines to detect and react to varying forces of the wind.
Known as smart-blade technology, the project aims to increase efficiency by enabling wind turbines to react to gusts of wind. As a result of reducing that strain, companies will see reduced costs, Fine said.
“What the industry would like to do is anticipate those [wind gust] loads before they have their effect, so they can build their blades lighter,” he said. “Smart-blade technology is giving the designers another control for their system to reduce the loads on the blade.”
Aquanis received its $3.5 million grant in the fall, and began work on it in March.
Fine estimates half of the money will be used in Rhode Island, where the smart blades are being developed, before dividing the rest between testing in Texas and demonstration in New Mexico.
The company is working with independent blade manufacturer TPI Composites Inc., in Warren, to integrate the technology on a test blade, before heading to Texas for evaluation and tests. The latter includes a run-through in a wind tunnel at the University of Texas.
“In Rhode Island we’re focusing on the underlying technology itself, that’s where most of the innovation is,” Fine said. “In Texas we’re understanding how the technology will impact the levelized cost of energy for wind.”
During the final stretch of the three-year project, the blades will be demonstrated using scaled wind-farm technology in New Mexico.
Field tests are expected to start in about two years, Fine said.
Once the technology is complete, Aquanis hopes to open a manufacturing facility, and eventually get a foothold in the fledgling offshore wind industry.
A firm grasp on renewable energy not only has economic benefits, it’s likely to help Rhode Island, as it grapples with rising water levels due to climate change, Reed pointed out.
“If we can get to a better balance with renewables” short-term financial benefits will likely lead to environmental gains in the long run, he said.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.
