The component parts of GE Renewable Energy’s mammoth 12 megawatt (MW) Haliade-X wind turbine prototype set for installation in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, continue to make appearances, with the turbine tower arriving late last week, just before the first turbine blade made its first appearance outside the company’s factory in Cherbourg, France.
Earlier this month, GE Renewable Energy notified journalists that it had begun the process of shipping four tower sections from wind tower manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries’ site in Seville, Spain. Destined for Maasvlakte-Rotterdam, in the Netherlands — where the Haliade-X will be installed onshore for testing purposes, a decision announced in January — the four tower sections made for an impressive sight as they were loaded aboard the multipurpose vessel Palmerton.
Image Credit: Puerto de Sevilla, via Twitter
Just over a week later, the tower sections arrived at the Port of Rotterdam ready to be installed during the summer.
A day later, the first Haliade-X blade made its first trip outside the LM Wind Power blade factory in Cherbourg, France, now owned by GE Renewable Energy after its acquisition in April of 2017.
The 107-meter-long blades are the longest wind turbine blades to date, and measure in at a length longer than that of a soccer or football field.
First announced in March of 2018, GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 12 MW turbines will measure in at 260 meters in height and boast a 220-meter rotor diameter, capable of generating enough clean electricity for 16,000 households per turbine.
Images: GE Renewable Energy and LM Wind Power
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Electrifying Industrial Heat for Steel, Cement, & More
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
