Rotor blade extension or lifetime extension?

Sharing knowledge means multiplying knowledge – That is what we were looking for when we teamed up with Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems to exchange our know-how on the lifetime extension of wind turbines with their knowledge on rotor blades. We investigated the interaction between rotor blade extensions (RBE) and lifetime extension of wind turbines to find out how we can maximize energy production during the turbine lifetime and reduce levelized costs of energy (LCoE).

How does a rotor blade extension affect the lifetime of the turbine? Are there situations in which an RBE is especially beneficial? Is there an optimum length of the RBE given any situation?

Check out the paper by Malo Rosemeier (Fraunhofer IWES) and Matthias Saathoff (PEC) that is now published by Wind Energy Science to find out more:

https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/5/897/2020/wes-5-897-2020.html

Rotor blade extension or lifetime extension? 1
RBEs affect the remaining useful time of the turbine components
Rotor blade extension or lifetime extension? 2
Finding an optimum design to maximize energy yield