By Bob Geiger

3M Co., best known for its Scotch Tape, Post-it brand notes and adhesives, is going into the wind-energy business, with a new line of fillers and protective coverings that can extend the life of wind turbine blades. The 3M Wind Tape product line, part of the $24.5 billion Maplewood-based company’s new Renewable Energy division, puts 3M Co. in the middle of the scramble to develop renewable energy that will reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and pare global greenhouse gas emissions.

“About two years ago, we started an effort to search for wind-energy business partners,” said Dr. Mike Strommen (pictured - photo by Bill Klotz), global wind-energy segment leader for the company’s renewable energy division. “Of our 55,000-plus products, many of them would be a natural match for the wind industry.”

3M quietly rolled out clear and opaque Wind Tape in mid-2007 – one year before the formation of the Renewable Energy division that includes solar and wind power was announced. That tape, designed to cover the leading edge of huge wind turbine blades, was developed in reaction to so-called “Voice of Customer,” or VOC, sessions to discuss emerging needs of customers, manufacturers and other product users.

Although Strommen wouldn’t name 3M customers, VOC meetings likely put 3M executives in the same room with U.S. and European-based with wind turbine manufacturers General Electric, Acciona, Gamesa, Nortel and Vestas. Designed to protect the leading edge of 120-foot, 12-ton fiberglass turbines, 3M’s Wind Tape comes in eight-inch wide, 54-foot rolls that cost at least $288.

That’s pretty expensive for a roll of tape, but Strommen said many turbine blades with a factory finish have significant damage after just two years of generating electricity. “It has a lot to do with wind and erosion control,” he said. “Wind (turbine) blades spin at 180 miles-per-hour. Remember that these blades are composite materials. After a year or two years of use, you can get erosion or pitting at the leading edge of that (turbine) blade.

“That pitting can affect the structural integrity of that blade. Wind turbine blades are not short or sleek – they range up to 120 feet in length, weigh 12 tons and cost an average of $100,000,” he said. By protecting turbine blades against damage, he estimated that Wind Tape could add between seven and 10 years to the life of a blade.

Wind Tape is only one of several products that 3M has created or is designing for the fast-growing wind energy industry.

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