New wind turbine blades from high-tech fabric

A little while back I watched a WWII documentary about the British Wellington bomber that was made from doped fabric literally sewn over a honeycomb frame. ('Doping' tightens the fabric and toughens it). Remember this thing had to be strong enough to carry a heavy payload into combat.

Now the same idea is being applied to....wind turbine blades ("War against global warming" anyone??)

The structure of the blade will remain pretty much the same except instead of fiberglass, a super-strong architectural fabric will be wrapped around the blade frame.

According to GE, this swap will allow for turbine blades that perform just as well, but can be made on site for a much lower cost — up to 40 percent less.

From an energy generation standpoint, the use of fabric, which is lighter than fiberglass, would allow for the production of much longer blades. Longer blades can capture even more of the wind’s energy.

I just love it!