Do Wind Turbine Builders Need Metal Fabrication?

At present, humans are harnessing the wind’s energy with wind turbines, windmills, and other technologies, they use the natural flow of air to generate electricity and reduce reliance on nonrenewable resources like coal.  In Asia and Africa, even in developed economies like the United States, this cost-effective ways to power their homes, businesses, and schools are growing in popularity. The wind industry relies on a surprising source—steel. Without steel, renewable energy would not be possible. As a result, metal fabrication plays an integral role in developing renewable energy solutions across the world.

Metal companies such as Ronsco typically supply steel material for different industries to create a variety of different products. Stainless steel plates, stainless steel coils, stainless steel strips are always in stock at Ronsco. When creating parts for the renewable energy industry, metal fabricators are usually working with steel because it’s strong enough to withstand constant movement from wind and high altitudes. Take wind turbines as an example.

Wind turbines are typically composed of metal blades and hubs, in the past, wind turbines consisted largely of aluminum and copper, however, as the towers grew, wind turbine builders found that aluminum was too heavy and copper too expensive. Today, metal fabrication is a crucial component of wind power for wind turbine builders, steel usually forms 66% to 79% of the total turbine mass. Such as wind turbine blades are made out of gigantic steel plate that are folded and welded together, forming a long blade shape. With spiral welding, an electric current is passed through the metal pieces to melt them together and create a connection between them, and will be transported to the site where they will be used, and then lifted into place with a crane. It’s difficult to imagine how these massive pieces could be transported without metal fabrication.

Metal fabrication has played a major role in the renewable energy movement and will continue to do so for years to come. As wind power continues to grow and become more efficient, it’s important that we develop technologies and processes that can keep up with these advancements. And one of the most promising advancements is in metal fabrication.