WES shares a common goal with all of our wind energy customers - to minimize the lifecycle costs of the composite components of generation equipment. The fact that it costs $10-15.00 per mile to move a blade underscores the value of on-site service and maintenance.
Technical Papers
Rotor Blade Maintenance
Presented at Sandia’s 4th Blade Workshop. July 2010, Albuquerque, NM. Compares rotor failure rates, common blade issues and defect detection techniques. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 8.4 MB)
Increasing Reliability Through A Blade's Lifecycle
Presented at AWEA Project Profitability & Reliability Workshop. January 2010, San Diego, CA. Reliability of the blade starts at the design and follows though production, delivery, installation and operation. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf xxx KB) At Cross-Border Climate and Renewable Energy - Presented at a Cross Border Meeting. August 2009, La Jolla, CA. Quick facts about wind energy, investment opportunities and market outlook. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 2.6 MB)
At Cross-Border Climate and Renewable Energy
Presented at a Cross Border Meeting. August 2009, La Jolla, CA. Quick facts about wind energy, investment opportunities and market outlook. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 1.7 MB)
Manufacturing Blades for Turbine Reliability
Presented at the Sandia Turbine Reliability Workshop. June 2009, Albuquerque, NM. Major challenges facing blade reliability: Design blades that can be built; building blades that survive; blades designed to reduce loads; and areas of improvement. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 5.3 MB)
Wind Blade Issues and Solutions
Presented at Wind Energy Update’s Operation & Maintenance Summit. April 2009, Houston, TX. How blade failures contribute to lost revenues. Scheduling maintenance to improve blade efficiency and increase energy output. Specialized inspection and repair techniques. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 5.8 MB)
A Look at Wind Turbine Blades
Presented at UWIG Fall Technical Workshop: A mile high view of wind integration. October 2008 Denver CO. New wind turbine blade issues, inspection, repairs and services. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 5 MB)
Turbine Blades from the Ground Level
Presented at the 3rd annual Sandia Blade Workshop. May 2008, Albuquerque, NM. Causes of new blade issues and solutions to the problems. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 1.7 MB)
Economic Benefits of Scheduled Rotor Maintenance
Presented at the CANWEA Annual Conference. October 2006, Winnipeg, Canada. Several different types of blade damage reviewed and how preventative maintenance may lower costs. Gary Kanaby author. Download (pdf 21.6 MB)
Use of Carbon Fiber in Wind Blades
Presented at USCAR meeting. Nov 2005, Dearborn, MI. After the U.S. DOE announced that USCAR and DOE would invest up to $195 million in R&D to produce lightweight cars, input from the wind industry was needed to determine if the production cost of carbon fiber could be lowered by combining the volumes required for the two industries. Gary Kanaby was invited to join the panel. Download (pdf 2.2 MB)
Sweep-Twist Adaptive Blade
Tom Ashwill, Sandia National Laboratories, and Gary Kanaby, MFG, introduce the Sweep Twist technology to Europe at the EWEC Wind Conference in 2007. Download (pdf 4.5 MB)
