Offshore wind turbine maker GE said Tuesday that its Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has started operating at 14 MW.
"With this new milestone, GE Renewable Energy becomes the first industry player to operate a turbine at this power output," GE Renewable Energy said.
The Haliade-X 14 MW is an uprated version of the Haliade-X 13 MW, which received its type certification in January 2021.
The GE Renewable Energy team has now officially started certification measurements on the Haliade-X 14 MW. One turbine can generate up to 74 GWh of gross annual energy production, saving up to 52,000 metric tons of C02, which is the equivalent of the emissions generated by 11,000 vehicles in one year.
Vincent Schellings, Chief Technology Officer, GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind, said: “We’re pleased to announce that the Haliade-X prototype is the first turbine in the industry to successfully run at 14 MW. When we first commissioned our Haliade-X prototype in November 2019 at 12 MW, we made a big leap forward in the industry. Over the past two years, we have learned a lot about operating and optimizing the performance of our Haliade-X platform, enabling us to uprate the Haliade-X platform to 14 MW today.”
GE explains that the ability to produce more power from a single turbine means fewer turbines need to be installed at each wind farm. In addition to less capital expenditure, this also simplifies operations and maintenance, improving the affordability and accessibility of renewable energy for customers and consumers around the world, the company said.
The Haliade-X 14 MW will make its commercial debut at the Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm, which is located over 130 km off the north-east coast of England and, together with Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, is due to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world upon completion. GE Renewable Energy will provide 87 units of the Haliade-X 14 MW for Dogger Bank C.
Dogger Bank A and B offshore wind farm phases are owned by SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%), and Eni (20%). Dogger Bank C is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (50%) and Equinor (50%). SSE Renewables is leading on the construction of the wind farm and Equinor will operate the wind farm for its lifetime of up to 35 years.