REpower presents new rotor blade design at EWEC

- Changes on blade profile enable yield increase
- Test run of REpower’s RE40 rotor blade prototype

Hamburg, 3 May 2007. After having completed an intensive test run of the prototypes, REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) is going to present the product evolution of its 2 MW-series (MM82 and MM92 turbines) at the EWEC (European Wind Energy Conference) which will take place in Milan this year from 7 to 10 May. This so-called evolution package was designed to further increase the economic efficiency of the 2 megawatt series REpower MM of up to three per cent, depending on the wind speed.

Furthermore, the development and production of a REpower rotor blade has made a big step forward: one set of the rotor blade named RE40 has been installed as a prototype on an MM82 turbine in Bosbuell (North Frisia, Germany) and will be undergoing several tests until summer, the first of which have already been successfully concluded.

REpower’s CTO Matthias Schubert states: “We are on schedule with the development of the prototype; the test results up to now have even exceeded our expectations”. He adds: “With the new rotor blade, our turbines can achieve a three to four per cent higher yield.”

Within the product evolution of the existing rotor blades, there are aerodynamic changes as well as changes in the control unit and parameter settings of the turbine. The aerodynamic changes are mainly linked to the blade profiles of the MM82 and MM92 blades and are optimising the oncoming flow at the inner rotor area. For the approved blades, spoilers and so-called stall barriers have been developed. The spoilers are placed near to the blade root on the pressure side of the blade and the stall barriers are installed on the suction side of the blade. This enables the same performance such as the totally new developed blade offers. From 2008 on, REpower Systems AG is confident to equip all of the newly sold MM82 and MM92 turbines with the evolution package as a standard. The product evolution is part of REpower’s attempt to continuously enhance proven technology and to consistently develop the product lines.

Furthermore, at the EWEC REpower will show the enhancements of its internet-based wind farm management system REguard which enables the controlling and monitoring of complete wind farms. Amongst others, the usability has been further increased and new capacities have been added.