LM Wind Power in Cherbourg, France has moulded the world’s first wind turbine blade that exceeds 100 m in length
LM Wind Power in Cherbourg, France has completed the process of moulding the world’s first wind turbine blade that exceeds 100 m in length.
The 107-m blade, moulded at the company’s facility in Cherbourg, LM 107.0 P, is now the subject of post-moulding finishing before undergoing rigorous testing and validation.
The massive blades are being developed for GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine, the world’s most powerful wind turbine to date, the first of which is due to be tested later this year in Rotterdam.
LM 107.0 P project director Lukasz Cejrowski described the blade as one of the biggest single components ever built. “This is an amazing achievement not only for LM Wind Power and GE Renewable Energy, but for the entire wind industry,” he said.
LM Wind Power vice president Alexis Crama said, “This achievement was made possible by a team of passionate people developing technology and manufacturing processes to revolutionise the offshore wind industry with ever-larger and more reliable rotor blades, capturing more wind and ultimately delivering an even lower levelised cost of energy.”
LM Wind began building the blade in late 2018. This first blade produced at Cherbourg will be shipped to the ORE Catapult Research & Development Centre in Blyth in the UK for testing.
The three next blades produced will be installed on GE’s Haliade-X 12-MW prototype at the end of Q2 2019.
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