World's Longest Wind Turbine Blade Revealed

LM Wind Power in France has unveiled the world's longest wind turbine blade. The 107-meter (351-foot) blade will be used for GE's Haliade-X 12MW wind turbine, the world's most powerful to date.

The Haliade-X 12 MW is a multi-million investment that will help reduce offshore wind’s cost of energy in order to make it a more competitive source of clean and renewable energy. The Haliade-X features a 220-meter rotor and digital capabilities. In addition to being the biggest offshore wind turbine, the Haliade-X will also be the most efficient of wind turbines in the ocean, says GE.

The combination of a bigger rotor, longer blades and higher capacity factor makes Haliade-X less sensitive to wind speed variations, increasing predictability and the ability to generate more power at low wind speeds. The Haliade-X can capture more Annual Energy Production (AEP) than any other offshore wind turbine even at low wind conditions. The 12MW turbine can generate 67 GWh annually, twice as much as the Haliade 150-6MW. One Haliade-X 12 MW can generate enough clean power to supply 16,000 European households according to wind conditions on a typical German North Sea site.

A 750MW Haliade-X 12MW wind farm based on an estimated AEP,  could produce enough power for up to one million households.

GE Renewable Energy plans to install the Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam this summer and to ship the first commercial units in 2021. Earlier this year, Swedish utility Vattenfall announced plans to deploy the Haliade-X in future projects in Europe.