A common criticism of wind power is that the wind is inconsistent so you can’t rely on it. To a certain extent that’s true, especially since the grid has difficulty routing energy quickly and efficiently based on real-time conditions. General Electric (GE) thinks it has a solution: a “brilliant” wind turbine.
GE has completed a prototype of a wind turbine designed for utility-scale wind farms that’s capable of communicating with remote sensors, neighboring turbines, the industrial internet, and on-site battery banks. A wind farm filled with intelligent turbines, on-site storage, and a cadre of sensors will enable the machinery to communicate with the grid, predict power requirements, and balance supply and demand in real time. Sensors allow the turbines to perform self-diagnostics and have troubleshooting data available when a technician arrives for maintenance.
The GE 2.5-120 turbine generates up to 2.5 MW with a rotor diameter of 120 meters. Large rotors and tall towers enable this turbine to efficiently generate power at lower wind speeds, even in areas with a lot of trees. See the video for more:
Images and video: GE