Status of boeing wind-turbine systems

Boeing involvement with wind energy began in 1977 with the award of the US Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored MOD-2 programme to design, fabricate and install the first multimegawatt rated wind turbines developed for commerical operation. Five 2.5 MW MOD-2 turbines have been installed: three at Goldendale, Washington, one at Medicine Bow, Wyoming and the first unit sold to a major utility located in Solano County, California. These five units have operated on-line for over 4200 hours and generated over five-million kilowatt-hours of energy. The DOE MOD-5B programme to design, fabricate and install a third generation multimegawatt machine was awarded to Boeing in 1980. The MOD-5B incorporates the operational and test experience obtained with the MOD-2 test wind turbines as well as a great many performance improvements. These items, coupled with a continuing effort of design simplification, combine to give a wind turbine which will be highly reliable and meet the economic objectives of electric utility customers. This paper presents a summary of experiences to date with the MOD-2 machines, and the current status of the MOD-5B design.