The prototype of GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 12 MW, the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine, has successfully produced electricity for the first time.
The test phase of the turbine, during which GE will perform measurements to obtain a type certificate, will now get underway at the test site in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Type certification is expected in 2020.
GE Renewable Energy chief executive John Lavelle said commissioning the prototype “is an achievement for our whole team, bringing to fruition our vision and the work of more than 500 people at GE.”
In addition to the prototype unit, a second Haliade-X 12 MW nacelle is currently being assembled in Saint-Nazaire and will soon be shipped to the ORE Catapult’s test site in the UK, where it will undergo a programme that will replicate real-world operational conditions to reduce the time required to validate performance and reliability.
In August 2019, a 107-m blade was also shipped to ORE Catapult’s site to undergo a full range of static- and fatigue-testing procedures to demonstrate the blade’s ability to withstand peak wind conditions and to simulate readiness for years of operation at sea.
GE Renewable Energy was recently selected as the preferred turbine supplier for the 120-MW Skip Jack and 1.1-GW Ocean Wind projects in the US, and the 3.6-GW Dogger Bank offshore windfarm in the UK.
Series production of the Haliade-X 12 MW will start at the second half of 2021.
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