The 8th annual international AMI conference on Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture will take place from the 12-14 December 2017 at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany, conveniently located at the international airport. The event begins with an evening Welcome Cocktail Reception and exhibition on the 12 December for all delegates and speakers followed by a 2-day focused technical programme.

The world continues moving towards a new era in renewable power technologies. Massive megawatt wind turbines are playing a key part in the current success of sustainable energy as they facilitate a continuous reduction of cost of wind energy. If long term reliability can be ensured then the costs of power generation are further reduced due to a lack of down time. There are now wind farms that are several decades old, providing vital information on durability and efficiency of power conversion for new plant development. Environmental factors represent the biggest hazard to structures, starting with lightning strikes, icing weighing down the rotor, erosion of blades caused by rain or sand in deserts, and salt water spray contact in offshore installations. AMI’s Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture 2017 conference examines the manufacturing and performance of wind blade composites for large windmills. There are challenges to be overcome in production such as bringing in cost-effective automation and speeding up manufacturing, as well as developing inspection technologies for quality control both in the factory and at the installation site of the turbine. Longer blades are coming on to the market to raise power generation capability and some companies are choosing to develop modular structures for ease of transportation. This is a global marketplace with suppliers going where the demand is greatest.

AMI's Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture 2017 conference brings together wind energy farmers, wind turbine producers, blade manufacturers, design engineers, composites manufacturing experts, researchers, developers, service engineers, materials and equipment suppliers, to discuss the technology and economics of producing reliable year-round wind energy, focusing on the key component, the rotor.