VIDEO: Haliade-X: World's largest wind turbine coming to the UK

Haliade-X: World's largest wind turbine coming to the UK

James Murray@James_BG

24 April 2018

GE Renewable Energy signs five year R&D agreement with ORE Catapult, as Ørsted confirms final turbine installed at world's largest offshore wind farm

The world's largest wind turbine is coming to the UK. Engineering giant GE Renewable Energy and the UK's Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult today announced they have signed a five-year research and development agreement that will see the planned Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine undergo testing at ORE Catapult's 15MW power train test facility in Blyth, Northumberland.

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The agreement, which also covers the existing Haliade 150-6MW turbine, will see GE undertake advanced test and demonstration programs that are designed to accurately replicate real-world operational conditions.

ORE Catapult said the test and demonstration programs would include cooling technologies, converters, loading conditions across mechanical and electrical components, grid testing and design validation.

"This collaboration will drive technology improvements that will also help to develop the UK supply chain and increase access to demonstration opportunities for innovative small businesses," it added.

The news was welcomed by Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry, who said the agreement highlighted the world-class nature of the UK's offshore wind R&D facilities.

"Through our Industrial Strategy, we are making the UK a global leader in renewables, including offshore wind, with more support available than any other country in the world," she said. "With 22 per cent of all investment in European wind projects coming to the UK, the offshore wind industry is exceptionally well placed to boost supplies of home grown clean energy whilst growing new jobs and opportunities.

John Lavelle, president and CEO of GE's Offshore Wind business, said the agreement was a significant move as it would help accelerate the development of the record-breaking turbine.

"This is an important agreement because it will enable us to prove Haliade-X in a faster way by putting it under controlled and extreme conditions," he said. "Traditional testing methods rely on local wind conditions and therefore have limited repeatability for testing. By using ORE Catapult's facilities and expertise, we will be in a better position to adapt our technology in a shortened time, reduce unplanned maintenance, increase availability and power output, while introducing new features to meet customers' demands."

The pursuit of larger turbines is seen as a critical component of efforts across the offshore wind industry to bring down costs. The most recent auction for new offshore wind clean energy contracts in the UK resulted in winning bids that were just half the level recorded four years previously, and developers are increasingly confident that larger turbines and new foundation technologies will help drive down costs further over the coming decade.

The announcement from GE and ORE Catapult came on the same day as another major milestone for the UK's burgeoning offshore wind sector. Leading developer Ørsted announced the final turbines at the world's largest offshore wind farm, the Walney Extension off the coast of Cumbria, have now been installed. All 87 turbines are now installed at the site, taking its total capacity to 659MW.

The project is owned by Ørsted with a 50 per cent stake and two leading Danish pension funds PFA and PKA, which each hold a 25 per cent stake. It is set to become the world's largest offshore wind farm when it comes fully online in the second half of this year.

The development provides evidence of the recent increase in turbine capacities, boasting 40 giant 8MW turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind that have been optimised to deliver a maximum output of 8.25MW and 47 of Siemens Gamesa's 7MW turbines.

"We're delighted to announce that all 87 turbines have been installed. It's thanks to the hard work of all the teams involved, both within Ørsted and our partner contractors, that we have successfully reached this significant milestone on schedule," said Andrew Cotterell, Walney Extension Programme Director at Ørsted, in a statement. "We are now focussed on completing construction and looking forward to seeing the world's largest wind farm brought safely into commercial operation later this year."

He added that the project provided a "prime example of the UK leading the way for offshore wind globally -  demonstrating the commercial viability of the latest turbine technology from MHI Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, as well as the strength of the rapidly growing UK supply chain with blades manufactured on the Isle of Wight and in HullHu".

https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3030821/haliade-x-worlds-largest-wind-turbine-coming-to-the-uk

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