Uniting Blade Experts Globally
The Global Blade Group is a forum created to share knowledge and innovation around wind turbine blades. For over ten years, the group has been making blade information more accessible and approachable. It exists to ensure that even the most fundamental blade-related questions can be asked, shared, and answered without friction.
Our Story
The Global Blade Group is an owner-operator–driven collaboration network created to address a critical gap in the wind industry: limited shared understanding of wind turbine blades across stakeholders.
It originated when we identified a recurring problem, that blade technology was widely misunderstood, and often excluded from deeper operational expertise, despite blades being one of the most failure-prone and technically complex turbine components.
The group began as a small collaboration and has since evolved into a global operator-led knowledge network involving blade experts worldwide.
50+ Global Members
The Global Blade group is open to Wind turbine owner-operators, asset managers and technical leads, and blade engineering specialists within operating companies.
Our Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) are operator funded and conducted across multiple geographies for statistical relevance. Participation in JIPs is voluntary and project-specific.
What We Do
Wind turbine blades are often poorly understood outside specialist teams. They are treated as ‘maintenance-free’ in legacy contracts, managed inconsistently across fleets and regions and subject to fragmented knowledge. This leads to two extremes in the industry: under-maintenance (undetected damage and unexpected failures) and over-maintenance (unnecessary repairs and inflated costs).
The Global Blade Group focuses on the balanced middle ground: informed, risk-based blade management.
Knowledge Sharing Network
Our operator engineers exchange real-world experience on:
• Structural blade failures
• Lightning damage and protection systems
• Leading edge erosion
• Inspection methodologies
• Repair strategies and standards interpretation
Joint Industry Projects (JIPs)
Members collaborate on structured technical studies, including:
• Leading Edge Protection (LEP) performance comparison
• Multi-year field trials across global wind farms
• Standardized inspection data frameworks
• Evaluation of condition monitoring systems (CMS)
Technical Working Groups
Specialist groups focus on deep technical domains:
• Structural damage analysis
• Aerodynamics
• Lightning protection systems
• Inspection and data standardisation
These groups allow subject-matter expertise to be applied while maintaining operator-led governance.
Members Get More
As a member, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge and are encouraged to ask any questions you may have. We have supported new professionals in the industry who were assigned blades as their primary area of responsibility with little prior knowledge. After just one or two meetings, they often know more about the subject than many of their colleagues. One member once remarked, “I’m too embarrassed to ask my colleagues because I feel I should already know this, but what is a nacelle?” We have also explained to numerous new members that blades are not hollow, but are instead constructed from carbon and glass fibre, as well as how the LPS system is designed. No question is too small, and no challenge is too great.
We also run Joint Industry Projects (JIPs), through which we aim to advance collectively. By testing tools or materials together and sharing the resulting data, all participants benefit. In our most recent JIP, nine companies collaborated to test thirteen materials, at a cost per company significantly lower than if a single company had tested all thirteen independently.
How To Join The Global Blade Group
To join The Global Blade Group, simply submit a member request, and a member of our team will review your request. You will recieve an email notification once your request has been reviewed and/or approved.