What's Inside a Wind Turbine?
Explore the components, materials, and costs of a 3MW onshore wind turbine. From carbon fiber blades to 85-ton steel towers — every part that determines $/kW installed.
Click any component on the left to see its material composition, cost contribution, and engineering details.
Supply Chain: From Mine to Wind Farm
Steel from iron ore (Australia, Brazil). Carbon fiber from polyacrylonitrile (Japan, US). Copper from mines (Chile, Peru). Rare earths from Bayan Obo mine (China, 60% of world supply).
A single 3MW turbine uses 85 tons of steel, 5 tons of carbon fiber, and 500g of neodymium
Fiberglass and carbon fiber fabrics are laid into a 65m mold, infused with epoxy resin under vacuum, cured at 70°C for 12 hours, then trimmed, painted, and fitted with lightning receptors.
Each blade takes 24 hours to lay up and 12 hours to cure — a factory produces 2-3 blades per week
Gearbox, generator, and power electronics are assembled on a main frame. Direct-drive generators with permanent magnets are wound with 3+ tons of copper. The complete nacelle weighs 80 tons.
Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, and GE control 75% of the global nacelle market
Steel plates are rolled into cylinders, welded longitudinally, flanged, sandblasted, and zinc-galvanized. 3-4 sections are bolted together on site. Tower fabrication is the most material-intensive step.
Tower steel accounts for 80% of total turbine mass — it dominates both cost and carbon footprint
Concrete foundation poured, tower sections bolted, nacelle lifted by 600-ton crane, blades attached one by one at hub height. Commissioning includes grid sync, performance testing, and SCADA calibration.
Installation takes 2-3 days per turbine in good weather — but weather windows are the constraint
Steel from iron ore (Australia, Brazil). Carbon fiber from polyacrylonitrile (Japan, US). Copper from mines (Chile, Peru). Rare earths from Bayan Obo mine (China, 60% of world supply).
Fiberglass and carbon fiber fabrics are laid into a 65m mold, infused with epoxy resin under vacuum, cured at 70°C for 12 hours, then trimmed, painted, and fitted with lightning receptors.
Gearbox, generator, and power electronics are assembled on a main frame. Direct-drive generators with permanent magnets are wound with 3+ tons of copper. The complete nacelle weighs 80 tons.
Steel plates are rolled into cylinders, welded longitudinally, flanged, sandblasted, and zinc-galvanized. 3-4 sections are bolted together on site. Tower fabrication is the most material-intensive step.
Concrete foundation poured, tower sections bolted, nacelle lifted by 600-ton crane, blades attached one by one at hub height. Commissioning includes grid sync, performance testing, and SCADA calibration.