By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The lab will start with three research projects with Nanyang Technological Unviersity, the National University of Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

The three projects are:

• Wind turbine blade coatings and methods for incorporating the materials into Gamesa’s manufacturing systems with Nanyan Technological University;
• Methods for monitoring composite materials using embedded sensors and assessing their industrial applications with the National University of Singapore; and
• Gauging the performance of wind turbine blades’ carbon fibre polymers after nano-reinforcements are incorporated to give added strength with the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), part of A*STAR and exploring R&D in manufacturing with A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech).

Gamesa’s Chief Technology Officer, José Antonia Malumbres, says: “These agreements offer vast potential for improving the reliability, efficiency and availability of our wind turbines and, by extension, their cost of energy (COE).”

Gamesa plans to cut the cost of energy by 20% through 2013 and by 30% through 2015 by introducing new products and developing new applied technologies, maintenance improvements, etc.

By the end of 2011, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer expects to open another four R&D sites in the US, India, the UK and Brazil.