Heads up! The turbine energy sector has recently got the ‘world’s largest offshore wind turbine.’ And, in this context, GE Renewable Energy (a subsidiary of General Electric based in Paris) has big news for the world. The company has unveiled the new components for its huge Haliade-X 12 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine.
Sneak-peek into the details
As it stands, the company showed the first nacelle for the turbine to the world on Monday. Nextly, the turbine is set to be shipped from Saint-Nazaire in France to Rotterdam-Maasvlakte in the Netherlands.
The nacelle is positioned behind the turbine’s blades. It has the orientation of a shell-like structure with important pieces of kit. Furthermore, the important pieces of the turbine consist of the controller, generator, gearbox, and brake. Taken together, these pieces make the manufactured and new component parts of the turbine.
On the other hand, GE Renewable Energy has stated that a prototype of the Haliade-X 12 MW will be installed onshore. The onshore installation will be in the Netherlands to “simplify access for testing.” On a significant note, the firm is working on assembling another nacelle to test it in “actual operational conditions” at a site in the U.K.
At the outset, the CEO of GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind, John Navelle stated that the team is “on track to start commercializing this new product very shortly.” To this end, the new component parts are a welcome addition to the turbine.
The technology is developing steadily. Consequently, the size of the wind turbines is increasing too.
What’s more, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (a key player in the sector), has launched the first commercially available double-digit turbine, the V164-10.0 MW. As the facts indicate, the turbine has 80-meter long blades. It weighs 35 tons each and has a tip height of approximately 187 meters.
Specifications of the Haliade-X 12 MW turbine
- GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will have an impressive capacity of 12 megawatts
- It will have a height of 260 meters.
- Moreover, Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will have a blade length of 107 meters.
- As for energy generation, the turbine will give out a massive 67 gigawatt-hours of gross annual energy. It is not surprising then that with such enormous energy capacity, GE Renewable energy has termed the turbine to be “the world’s largest offshore wind turbine.”
The new component parts of “the world’s largest offshore wind turbine” vouch for enhanced production efficiency. If all goes to plan, GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will significantly contribute to the global sustainable energy pool.
