Siemens’ New 7 MW Offshore Wind Turbine Delivers 10% Higher Yield
Unveiled at the EWEA Offshore trade show earlier this year, Siemens’ new 7 MW offshore wind turbine has begun testing in Denmark.
Siemens is exceedingly proud of its new SWT-7.0-154 wind turbine, claiming that “under typical offshore conditions” the turbine can generate 32 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which is the equivalent electricity to supply up to 7,000 homes.
With one turbine.
The SWT-7.0-154 wind turbine has the same rotor diameter of 154 meters as its predecessor, but is delivering a nearly 10% higher energy yield, the prototype of which is now beginning test operation in Siemens’ Danish Østerlid test field.
The prototype in Østerild, Denmark was installed only a few months after the product launch at EWEA Offshore trade show in Copenhagen.
According to Siemens, the company “has relied on gearless technology for its offshore wind turbines since 2010.” Continuing:
A synchronous generator with permanent magnets converts the rotor motion directly into electrical energy without the use of a gearbox which normally steps up the low speed of the wind rotor to high speed for generating electricity. With the new technology, the entire drive train operates with significantly fewer components, making it lighter, more compact and less prone to wear.
This makes the SWT-7.0-154 wind turbine the lightest wind turbine in its performance class, and allows it to deliver more power than traditional geared turbines.
This latest near-10% increase in performance comes due to optimization measures to the generator and its associated electrical components. According to Siemens, “the key modifications are more powerful permanent magnets in the rotor and suitably strengthened generator segments. In addition, the converter and transformer that transform the electrical energy produced by the generator for feeding into the supply grid have been re-engineered for the higher power output.”
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