The development of alternate energy source has provided growth potential for the wind industry. The global wind industry is growing fast, in terms of both number of turbines and their sizes. The modern turbines are 100 times the size of those in 1980 according to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Over the same period, rotor diameters have increased eight-fold, with turbine blades surpassing 60 m in length as per reinforcedplastics.com. By the end of 2007, around 20 GW of capacity had been installed, bringing the world total to almost 94 GW. In its report Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008, GWEC predicts that wind will supply 12% of the world’s energy needs by 2020 and could supply 30% by 2050. Wind turbine blades typically consist of reinforcement fibers, such as glass fibers or carbon fibers; a polymer such as polyester or epoxy; sandwich core materials such as PVC, PET or balsa wood; and bonded joints, PU coating and lightning conductors. As the turbines grow in size, so does the amount of material needed for the blades. For a 1 kilowatt (kW) wind power plant, 10 kg of rotor blade material is needed. For a 7.5 megawatt (MW) turbine, this would translate to 75 tons of blade material. Wind turbine blades are predicted to have a lifecycle of around 20-25 years.

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