11.02.06

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Knight & Carver's Wind Blade Division has completed the first in a series of 27.5-meter wind blades as part of a U.S. Department of Energy project that ranks among the industry's most innovative advances in wind energy production.

With the name "STAR" - which stands for "Sweep Twist Adaptive Rotor" - the blade is the first of its kind ever built. Its most distinctive characteristic is a gently curved tip, which unlike the vast majority of blades in current use, is specially designed for low-wind-speed regions.

Sized overall at 27.5 meters (approx. 90'2") x 2.4 meters (approx. 7'8"), the blade takes maximum advantage of all wind speeds, including marginal speeds. Instead of the traditional linear shape, the blade features a curvature toward the trailing edge, designed to relieve pressure on the blade and turbine drive train.

"Depending on the wind farm's site, this blade will capture between 5 and 10 percent more energy," said Gary Kanaby, Knight & Carver's Blade Division Manager.

Last April, Knight & Carver's Wind Blade Division was honored by the U.S. Department of Energy for research and development on the STAR blade project. The company received DOE's 2005 "Outstanding Research and Development Partnership Award" for the project, one key element within the DOE's strategy to reduce wind-powered electricity generation costs at low-speed sites.

The blade is scheduled for static-testing at Knight & Carver's on-site test facility in San Diego during December. A second blade will be built before the end of the year.

Knight & Carver's Gary Kanaby serves as project manager, with Leo Martinez as production manager and consultant Kevin Jackson as principal engineer/developer.

The project is a cooperative effort among the following companies and institutions:

• Knight & Carver YachtCenter
  
• Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. (Tom Ashwill)
  
• Dynamic Design, Davis, CA (Kevin Jackson)
  
• MDZ Consulting, Clear Lake Shores, TX (Mike Zuteck)
  
• University of California at Davis, Mechanical/Aeronautical (Case Van Dam, Scott Larwood)
  
• NSE Composites, Seattle, WA (D.M. Hoyt)