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GE to develop world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 01/03/2018 GE Renewable Energy
GE Renewable EnergyGE Renewable Energy (GE) has unveiled its plan to develop its largest, most powerful offshore wind turbine to date, the Haliade-X. Featuring a 12MW direct drive generator and a gross capacity factor of 63% the Haliade-X will produce 45% more energy than any other offshore turbine available, according to GE.

The company will invest more than $400m over the next three to five years in development and deployment of the Haliade-X.Towering 260m over the sea, more than five times the size of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, the Haliade-X 12 MW carries a 220m rotor. GE aims to supply its first nacelle for demonstration in 2019 and ship the first units in 2021.

Designed and manufactured by LM Wind Power, the 107m long blades will be the longest offshore blades to date and will be longer than the size of a soccer field.

GE claims that one Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will generate up to 67 GWh annually, enough clean power for up to 16,000 households per turbine, and up to 1 million European households in a 750MW wind farm configuration.

Jérôme Pécresse, President and CEO of GE Renewable Energy said: "The renewables industry took more than 20 years to install the first 17 GW of offshore wind. Today, the industry forecasts that it will install more than 90 GW over the next 12 years. This is being driven by lower cost of electricity from scale and technology. The Haliade-X shows GE's commitment to the offshore wind segment and will set a new benchmark for cost of electricity, thus driving more offshore growth."

The ability to produce more power from a single turbine means a smaller number of turbines in the total farm, which translates to less capital expenditure for the balance of plant and reduced risk in project execution as the installation cycle time is reduced. It also simplifies operation and maintenance of the wind farm. All of this reduces the investment and operation cost for developers, makes offshore wind projects more profitable, and ultimately lowers cost of electricity for consumers.

John Lavelle, CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy said: "The Haliade-X 12 MW will help our customers in an increasingly competitive offshore environment, and through its size and digital functionality provide important value across manufacturing, installation and operation."

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