Welcome to the Glass Age

68 power generation required lighter, higher-performance and lower-cost turbine blades. With seminal developments in glass melting, fiber forming, glass formulation and other related technologies, glass fibers with high-strength and high-modulus could be manufactured. These new developments led wooden and metal blades of wind turbines to be replaced by glass fiber composites such as seen in Figure 4.5 and Figure 4.6. High-performance glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites have excellent mechanical properties, processability and corrosion resistance. They can meet the needs of large-scale marine application of wind power and have become the material of choice for large-sized wind turbine blades. At present, the world’s total installed capacity of wind power is 743GW, accounting for 6% of global power generation. As the world strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, shifting to sustainable sources of energy has garnered increasing attention from countries around the world. The world’s energy pattern will also be reshaped, meaning the proportion of renewable energy such as wind in the total energy mix will only increase. To achieve “net zero” carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, the annual demand of 180GW of new wind power installed capacity and more than 30% of wind power generation in the total energy mix by 2050, will set off explosive growth of the wind power market. The demand of 10,000 to 15,000 tons of glass fiber for 1GW of wind power installed capacity will also prompt the glass fiber industry to innovate. The future is in the hands of materials. Thanks to the continuous R&D of high-strength, high-modulus glass fiber and the strong demand for super-sized wind turbine blades, the performance of wind turbines will reach unprecedented levels. This will prompt the wind industry to reach price parity sooner with traditional fossil energy, thus demonstrating directly the value of clean and environmentally-friendly energy. Wind power will make our sky bluer and cleaner, and make us healthier, happier and live better. Figure 4.5 shows an eolic park (wind Figure 4.7. Used nuclear fuel is stored above ground in massive airtight steel or concrete- and-steel dry canisters, or in steel-lined water-filled concrete pools. Source: https://www.energy-northwest.com/energyprojects/ Columbia/Pages/Used-Fuel.aspx