In order for the giant turbine blades to catch the wind, they must first fly with it.
At least, that’s the case for the blades being transported aboard Radia’s Windrunner, billed as “the world’s largest aircraft” dedicated to transporting the world’s largest land-based turbines.
Colorado wind energy developer Radia is working to capitalize on what its leaders see as a rapid growth opportunity.
The giant planes are needed to transport the increasingly large Gigawind turbine blades used in Radia’s wind projects. The larger blades, some of which are made by Radia’s partners, can capture more energy from the air, which makes wind farms feasible in most parts of the country, according to the company’s maps.
A typical blade is about 230 feet long, but the Radia team expects them to grow to 330 feet in the future. The company’s illustrations highlight the challenges of ground transport of these blades: One shows a truck trying to negotiate a seemingly impossible curve on the highway; another shows a blade about to hit a bridge as it passes under it.
In December, the BBC posted a video illustrating the dangerous and delicate journey required to transport the 213-foot blades to a wind farm in the Scottish Borders.
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These logistics, plus the added cost of clearing power lines and other obstructions, make air freight prices comparable to ground shipping.
The plane is about the size of a football field and 356 feet long. Its nose can flip up and the blades can be stowed inside the fuselage. Radia shows an example flight on its website that starts at 4 a.m. Three hours later, the plane takes off and reaches cruising altitude by 9 a.m.
The Windrunner can fly 1,240 miles at an altitude of 41,000 feet. Impressively, this large transport aircraft can land on “semi-developed” runways at altitudes of less than 6,000 feet. In this example, the image provided shows the plane landing in an area surrounded by turbines at 10am.
“Our global fleet operates from regional bases where blades are imported or manufactured,” the company says on its website.
Details about the engine or project timeline are scarce, but CNN reports that it will be introduced in 2027. The report also said that the Radia will use existing government-approved aviation technology.
Company executives see wind power as a clean, reliable source of energy with trillions of dollars of potential onshore market by 2050. If BloombergNEF’s predictions come true, they could be a game changer for the energy industry.
Wind already provides about 10.3% of the electricity in the U.S., and numerous innovations, such as bladeless turbines, are being developed to bring more generating capacity online.
The plane’s big arms, unique design, and enormous capacity are visionary, but there are ways to make a meaningful impact at home: Unplugging so-called energy vampires — chargers and devices that aren’t being used — could prevent 800 pounds of global-warming air pollution and save about $165 on your annual electricity bill.
Driving a stake into the heart of power-suckers could have even bigger effects, as pollution is contributing to the overheating of the planet and, according to NASA, also increasing the risk of severe weather events: destructive storms, floods, droughts and wildfires, for example, impacting insurance coverage and costs.
Radia executives expect bigger turbines and longer blades will be needed in the future, so their planes could soon cast outsized shadows as they harness the power of the wind to transport cargo to remote locations.
“The most efficient wind turbines – those that produce the most power and therefore reduce costs – are the largest,” the company’s website states.
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