Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy to co-operate on next-generation turbine

Offshore wind developer Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy are to join forces to deployment GE’s new offshore wind turbine, the Haliade-X.

With a capacity of 12 MW, the Haliade-X is the largest offshore wind turbine currently being marketed. Development and production of the new 12MW turbine will mostly take place in France. As previously highlighted by OWJ, the nacelle will be assembled at GE’s factory in Saint Nazaire and the blades will be manufactured at the LM Wind Power factory in Cherbourg.

Vattenfall senior vice president and head of wind Gunnar Groebler said, “As a leader of the wind industry, we are constantly striving for top-notch technology. Co-operation with GE Renewable Energy enables us to remain one step ahead in wind turbine technology developments.

“The size and performance of Haliade-X 12MW will help us further improve the competitiveness of offshore wind energy.”

The co-operation is the result of 12 months of ‘intensive exchanges’ during which Vattenfall conducted technical due diligence and both companies worked on the customisation of the platform.

The final details of the co-operation will be defined later this year and the companies plan to analyse specific projects in the Vattenfall offshore wind pipeline for which the 12-MW turbine might be suited.

The 12-MW turbine has a 220 m rotor, 107 m blades, which are the longest ever manufactured, and will have the greatest capacity factor in the industry. “One Haliade-X turbine can generate 67 GWh annually,” said the companies.

GE Renewable Energy plans to install the Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam mid-year and to ship the first commercial units in 2021.