Siemens Gamesa Unveils 10 Megawatt Offshore Wind Turbine

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Spanish wind energy giant Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced the launch of its newest offshore wind turbine on Wednesday, a 10 megawatt (MW) behemoth which will increase individual turbine output by as much as 30% and pit the company against its peers, GE Renewable Energy and MHI Vestas in the race for the most powerful offshore wind turbine.

Siemens Gamesa unveiled its SG 10.0-193 DD offshore wind turbine on Wednesday, its first 10+ MW offshore wind turbine, boasting a rotor diameter of 193 meters and blades measuring in at 94 meters. Designed for all wind conditions, the new turbine will deliver up to 30% more annual energy production (AEP) than its predecessor, the SG 8.0-167 DD (an 8 MW turbine). The turbine is based on the lessons and designs of previous models and will generate maximum energy yield at all wind speeds.

Each individual turbine is expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 10,000 European households, which means that an offshore wind park made up of only 20 turbines could supply the annual electricity needs of a city the size of Liverpool.

“The new SG 10.0-193 DD combines experiences and knowledge from five generations of proven direct drive technology in one 10 MW turbine,” crowed Markus Tacke, CEO of Siemens Gamesa. “A showcase of strong performance, swift time-to-market, and low risk in the offshore wind energy market.”

The increase in output is made possible through a larger generator diameter, powering a swept area of 29,300 m². Set for serial production in 2022, the turbine’s direct drive platform allows for the re-use of most components from previous generations, reducing the turbine’s time-to-market. A prototype is expected to be installed sometime this year with commercial market deployment expected in 2022.

“Siemens Gamesa has been applying its knowledge and experience directly into offshore wind turbines for decades,” explained Andreas Nauen, CEO of the SGRE Offshore Business Unit. “Utilizing proven components and concepts provides us with a strong, established value chain, with clear processes and skilled employees ready to go, leveraging on a fully-developed and industrialized supply chain.”

“The Levelized Cost of Energy from offshore wind continues to decrease as industry scale and performance grow. New markets are developing across the globe, all of which require cost-efficient, reliable, and clean power for generations. The SG 10.0-193 DD enables us as market leaders to meet these needs in close cooperation with our customers, stakeholders, and society-at-large.”

The SG 10.0-193 DD brings Siemens Gamesa to the table alongside its leading competitors, GE Renewable Energy and MHI Vestas, in the race to design and bring to operation the largest and most powerful offshore wind turbines. Currently, GE is leading with the largest announced turbine — the 12 MW Haliade-X which, only this week announced that its first prototype will be installed in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, during the middle of 2019. GE expects to be able to begin commercialization of the Haliade-X in 2021.

Across the proverbial aisle, MHI Vestas was the first to unveil a 10 MW offshore turbine back in September 2018 — though this was announced six months after the Haliade-X announcement. MHI Vestas was able to announce its V164-10.0 MW turbine straight to commercial availability, helped in large part that the turbine is simply an expansion of the company’s 9.5 MW — a turbine which is already set for installation later this year at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen, Scotland, and to be installed at the Northwester 2 Offshore Wind Power Plant set to be built off the coast of Belgium in the North Sea in early 2020.