The 2022 Sandia Blade Workshop, a key venue for wind energy stakeholders, brought together wind industry experts, wind farmer owners and operators, manufacturers, and researchers from across the world to discuss pathways toward better turbine blades.
Wind Energy Technologies Office
December 9, 2022
minute read time
After a four-year hiatus, the Sandia Blade Workshop returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 17-20, 2022. The workshop is a key venue for wind energy stakeholders, bringing together wind industry experts, wind farmer owners and operators, manufacturers, and researchers from across the world. This year’s conference drew record-breaking attendance with over 190 participants and 43 presenters and panelists, including Sarah Cottrell Propst, the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ben Hallissy, who leads a portfolio of research and development (R&D) activities within the Wind Energy Technologies Office.
Sandia National Laboratories’ Wind Energy Technologies Program hosts the blade workshop every two years to engage the wind energy industry by examining the main energy capture component of the wind turbine components that capture energy: the blades. Together, workshop attendees identified engineering and scientific issues in wind energy, discussed research technology pathways towards better wind turbines with a focus on blades, and facilitated interaction between the different stakeholders.
Workshop participants attend a panel discussion at the 2022 Sandia Blade Workshop. This year’s conference drew over 190 participants and 43 presenters and panelists.
A lively discussion during the “Owners and Operators” panel covered an array of wind turbine blade quality and reliability issues observed in the operations and maintenance of wind farms. Owners and operators of wind turbines shared that they don't feel their expertise in blade repair and reliability is being used to inform the design of new, longer blades being manufactured and deployed at new wind farms. This disconnect was an important takeaway and emphasizes the potential for improved communication between multiple facets of the wind industry.
“The blade workshop continues to be useful in identifying and addressing these communication breakdowns between different stakeholders within the wind industry to reduce the cost of wind energy,” said Chris Kelley, general chair for this year’s workshop.
View the 2022 Sandia Blade Workshop program and presentations.