GE Renewable Energy’s 12 Megawatt Haliade-X Begins Shipping Towers
GE Renewable Energy announced this week that it has begun shipping four tower sections which will be part of its 12 megawatt (MW) Haliade-X wind turbine prototype which is soon to be installed in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Announced in March 2018, GE Renewable Energy’s 12 MW Haliade-X will measure in at 260 meters in height and boast a 220-meter rotor, capable of generating enough clean electricity for 16,000 households all on its own, making it easily the largest wind turbine in the world.
Earlier this year, GE Renewable Energy announced that it had signed an agreement to build a prototype of the 12 MW Haliade-X in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, during the summer of 2019. The agreement was made with Future Wind, a Joint Venture between Pondera Development and SIF Holding Netherlands. GE Renewable Energy will build a single turbine onshore so as to facilitate access for testing which will in turn provide the company with the necessary data to obtain the Type Certificate for the turbine.
“As we rapidly progress on assembling the Haliade-X prototype, this announcement is a critical step forward for GE and our customers,” said John Lavelle, VP & CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy in January. “The port of Rotterdam has been a real partner and provides all the necessary conditions to test the Haliade-X in the most drastic weather conditions.”
This week, GE Renewable Energy revealed that it had begun shipping four tower sections which will be part of the Rotterdam prototype. Manufactured at wind turbine tower manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries’ site in Seville, Spain, the turbines are expected to arrive at their destination before the end of the month.
“The shipping of tower sections is another important milestone in the development of our Haliade-X 12MW prototype in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam,” said John Lavelle, President & CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy. “Our teams in Cherbourg and Saint-Nazaire are rapidly progressing on Haliade-X assembly, and we are working to get the unit fully installed before the end of the summer.”
The nacelle for the prototype Haliade-X is currently being assembled in Saint-Nazaire, France, while its 107-meter-long turbine blades are being manufactured at LM Wind Power’s site in Cherbourg, also in France. The nacelle and blades are expected to be shipped to Maasvlakte-Rotterdam and installed before the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
