Siemens Gamesa Launches Record Offshore Wind Turbine
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has launched the company’s first 10+ MW offshore wind turbine.
The 10MW rating is made possible through a larger generator diameter, and by increasing the rotor diameter to 193 meters (633 feet), the new wind turbine offers up to 30 percent more annual energy production than its predecessor. Its 94-meter (308-foot) blades provide a swept area of 29,300 m². Each blade is almost the same length as one soccer field.
The annual energy production of one of the new turbines is sufficient to supply about 10,000 European households with electricity. This means that an offshore wind park composed of 20 of these turbines would cover the annual electricity consumption of a city the size of Liverpool.
The prototype is expected to be installed this year with commercial market deployment expected in 2022.
The nacelles will be initially manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Cuxhaven, Germany, the world's largest plant for offshore wind turbine nacelles.
The new turbine potentially sets a commercial record in blade length but is not the first to achieve a double-digit rating. MHI Vestas Offshore Wind announced development of a 10MW turbine in September last year. The turbine has a rotor diameter of 164 meters (538 feet) and features 80-meter (262-foot) blades, the equivalent of nine double decker London buses. Each blade weighs 35 tons and has a swept area of 21,124 m2, larger than the London Eye. The nacelle is 20 meters (66 feet) long, eight meters wide and eight meters high, weighing approximately 390 tons. One turbine can power 5,977 German homes. Commercial installations are expected in 2021.