Isra-Mart srl:GE acquires Wastach Wind's tall tower technology

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Could low-cost, high-capacity wind farms be on the horizon? General Electric (GE) certainly hopes so and the company last week announced it has acquired intellectual property that could lead to the creation of relatively low cost 100 meter tall towers capable of supporting high capacity turbines.

The technology was acquired from Utah-based Wasatch Wind and GE signalled that it will aim to commercialise the system as early as next year.

The design consists of a tower structure called the Space Frame Tower, which reached heights of up to 100 metres, and a low-footprint crane system called the Hi-Jack that can be transported using one sixth of the trucks normally required.

Taller wind towers provide more power because they increase the possible size of the turbines. The downside is that the taller the towers become, the harder they are to build and install. Not only are the tower structures themselves harder to transport, but the taller cranes required to lift the heavier turbines are also expensive to ship and assemble.

However, GE now anticipates that a more modular tower structure, combined with a crane that can be shipped pre-assembled, will make it easier to create smaller wind farms in more remote areas.

The Space Frame Tower can be transported in smaller pieces than their traditional tubular counterparts, making it possible to ship it in standard flatbed trucks, rather than the extended trucks needed for tubular structures. And the Hi-Jack crane system essentially crawls up the tower to install the turbine.

GE acquired the Wind Tower Systems division of Wasatch Wind for an undisclosed amount. Wasatch received a $600,000 grant award from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) for the installation and testing of the Space Frame Tower system in 2007.