Split wind turbine blade design is something that isn't going away due to transportation logistics - but will it really work? Can split blades hold up? We also discuss carbon nanotube technology and how its RF-absorbing properties can reduce interference with air traffic control, potentially opening up new land tracts to wind farm development. Also in the show is chatter on new solar panel technology that claims to boost power output significantly, a new blade mishap and more.



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Transcript: EP31 - Split Blade Wind Turbine Design; RF-Absorbing Coatings & New Solar Panel Tech



All right, welcome back to the uptime podcast. This is episode 31. And in today's episode, we're gonna talk about. Pretty wide range of stuff. First thing, New Jersey, there's some trouble afoot as legislators are potentially going to suspend some offshore wind work. Um, it seems like the fishermen, uh, association is involved there also a blade is broken on a Vestas  in Australia.



So we'll chat a little bit about the. You know, and go down the investigative trail just a bit. And we're gonna talk a little bit about solar, actually a in today's episode. So panel efficiency is potential improving with a new startup. So we'll talk about the implications of that in our engineering segment today.



RF absorbing material might be an interesting new development for wind turbines to prevent some of the interference with aircraft traffic control. Next, we're gonna talk about split blades, which look seems are you gonna be more and more important as you know, these wind turbines get bigger and bigger.



Transportation is always a challenge there without further ado, Allen. What's going on here in New Jersey. Well, democratic processes at work right now. There's a big push by fishermen that use the sea where the wind turbines are going to be installed off the coast. You know, the New Jersey governor has been pushing to do a big offshore effort on wind turbines.



But inevitably there's going to be an opposing group to that. Like always, and the fishermen were complaining about it and probably rightly so. They see it as an, uh, another thing to work around and don't particularly want it and they have a lot of clout. So it's going to be a, it's gonna be a, uh, a battle in the legislature, for sure.



And now in this political environment, we're in right now. We have to, you know, just sort of bear through it. I think once they get past November and into December where, uh, the political atmosphere settles down a little bit and people keep kind of get back to work. We'll see, we'll see this, uh, even out, I don't know if this is a knee jerk response to the governor's proposal.



Kind of feels like it, but in any sort of a dispute like this, the, the better approach is to attack it early. If you do think there's going to be some concessions that the, the administration is gonna be willing to make you better start now and start those negotiations too. To get to a final agreements that are waiting until the project is approved, then fighting authentic, because in most cases it's way too late.



So the, I think the fishermen are just acting proactively and rightly so, because that's the way state governments work in the United States for the most part. Yeah. So the wind project in question here is the or stead ocean wind project. And basically what they're alleging is the company has failed to deliver on some of its promises of economic development.



They're supposed to hire a union labor, provide grants and, you know, in general boost the local economy. But, you know, the, the, the head of the state Senate or the state Senate printed president basically said that the, this isn't happening right now,