Blade for world’s most powerful turbine arrives in Boston for testing

The 107-m blade for GE’s Haliade-X 12-MW offshore wind turbine is to be tested at the Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) to simulate its full lifetime. The 107-m blade will undergo a series of fatigue tests that involve moving it millions of times over the period of a few months to validate that it can withstand more than 25 years of operation at sea.

The testing is part of the process of commercialising the Haliade-X 12 MW turbine by 2021. The Haliade-X has been selected as the preferred turbine for nearly 5 GW of offshore projects in the past month, including projects in Maryland, New Jersey and projects in the UK.

GE chairman and chief executive Larry Culp said, “This has really been a collaborative effort on the part of the company, solving the challenges associated with the energy transition. We think the Haliade-X is the right turbine at the right time as the offshore industry grows globally and particularly here in the US.”

GE Renewable Energy chief executive John Lavelle said, “We believe the Haliade-X has a key role to play in driving the growth of the offshore wind market, in the US and globally. Because it is the most powerful machine in the industry, it allows our customers to drive down the cost of wind energy and speed the adoption of clean, renewable energy.”

The WTTC offers a full suite of certification tests for turbine blade sections up to 90 m in length. On 22 October 2019, the US Department of Energy announced a number of awards to support wind energy research, development, and demonstration projects, including a grant to MassCEC for equipment upgrades at the WTTC to enable structural testing of blades of up to 120 m.