In an effort to further develop its offshore wind power technology, the government in Taiwan has begun to further look into the capability of its offshore wind turbines in withstanding the impacts of the its most common natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes.
With the recent advances in technology, a growing number of the industry's developers have already begun to take active steps to adopt the larger capacity wind turbine models. In the recent years, there has also been a growing interest in the use of advanced materials like compound carbon fibers. Compound carbon fibers have emerged as the mainstream material for wind turbines, thanks to the merits of its high strength and toughness compared to the traditional glass fibers, its high corrosion-resistance, and its lightweight. In line with their increasing capacity, the maximum height of the new wind turbines is estimated to top 200 meters by 2025, or 300 meters after adding the height of the blades.
As a whole, the development of a wind turbine will have to go through multiple quality certifications, including the GL certification for materials, performance and environment-safety tests at the laboratory of the system suppliers, the ISO9001 quality certification, the ISO14001 environmental-management certification, and the ISO45001 occupational safety and hygiene certification. The process of completing and passing these certifications are all very time consuming.
To be able to officially develop wind turbines in Taiwan, the developers of these equipment will also need to pass the IEC-T certification for typhoon-withstanding capability,which was jointly developed by the MHI Vestas and DNV GL certification bodies to cope with the problem of Taiwan's frequent typhoons and earthquakes.
A number of advanced sensors will also have to be installed on the wind turbines, so that the operators can suspend the operation of the wind turbines when the wind speed exceeds a certain level. Such safeguards are meant to protect the wind turbines against various disasters during its 25-year lifespan.
(News source: Tech News; Image credit: Pixabay)