WTTC History

 

In June 2007, Massachusetts won a competitive $2 million federal NREL grant, plus in-kind technical and operating assistance to help outfit and run a new wind blade testing center. In May 2009, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Governor Deval Patrick announced the U.S. Department of Energy’s award of $24.7 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate development of the WTTC. MassCEC has committed $13.2 million in grants and loans for design and initial development expenses for this project. Construction of the facility began in December 2009 and will be complete by early 2011. The WTTC will be the first commercial large blade test facility in the nation, testing commercial-sized wind turbine blades to help reduce cost, improving technical advancements and expediting the deployment of the next generation of wind turbine blades into the marketplace.

 

 

The WTTC will attract new wind technology and other renewable energy technology companies to Massachusetts, creating jobs in Massachusetts. With construction underway, more than 70 jobs have been created so far, and in total the project will create 250 to 300 construction jobs, 30 design / administrative jobs.

 

When completed the WTTC will provide three test stands and 100 tons overhead bridge crane capacity and a full suite of certification tests for turbine blades up to 90m in length, including static and fatigue testing, blade material testing, dual axis static or fatigue testing, and quality testing. In addition as part of its effort to help the wind industry deploy the next generation of onshore and offshore wind turbine technologies, the WTTC will offer the latest wind turbine blade testing and prototype development methodologies, research and development partnerships, blade repair capabilities and hands-on workforce training. 

 

 

The WTTC will provide certification tests for new blade designs and reliability testing for existing blade designs for wind turbine manufacturers.  Each test is conducted on a single turbine blade. A full endurance (fatigue) test takes three to four months to complete while a static (ultimate strength and resonance) test takes one to two weeks. The facility will be able to test three blades at a time. 

The up to 90 meter-long blades will be shipped to the facility primarily by water, or shorter blades can be shipped by road if required. The WTTC is uniquely positioned on an existing deep water port and near interstate highways. In addition, WTTC is close to numerous world-class clean energy research and academic centers in the Boston area, and about 15 minutes from Boston Logan International Airport.