We’ve embarked on a new program that chronicles the seismic testing of a wind turbine conducted at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering’s Englekirk Structural Engineering Center – home of the western hemisphere’s largest outdoor shake table. California will be expanding the use of wind generation, and as we all know, California is one of the most seismically active regions in the nation. It is the first time a turbine has been tested in this manner and will provide a wealth of information for design and deployment of wind turbines for our renewable future. We caught the turbine being subjected to forces two-and-a-half times greater than the Northridge earthquake, and we’ll be getting an inside look at a working wind farm and how this research will help advance wind power – keep watching and you’ll see the results.
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