When Washington state gains its first wind energy farm in 2001, it will represent the first mass deployment of an innovative new wind turbine designed and built by a Bellevue, Wash. company. Since the mid-90s, the Wind Turbine Company has been working on the first wind generator designed from scratch since the 1980s, WTC President Larry Miles says. Most of today's machines have 3 blades sitting in front of the tower, but the new turbine sites 2 blades downwind. That makes for a lighter and more flexible generator that delivers more juice for the buck. Reversing the arrangement changes wind dynamics enough to allow around 40 percent weight savings, translating into 20 percent materials cost savings.
Towers can rise higher letting machines capture more wind.
The advantages caught the attention of Energy Northwest, the old Washington Public Power Supply System primarily known for a largely failed nuclear construction program that caused the worst municipal bond default in history. Most is expected to come from wind. They will be assembled in the Seattle area. The wind farm site, somewhere in Eastern Washington, remains to be finalized. Wind power won't be all the answer for the Northwest but it should be part of the portfolio.