Wind

World’s biggest offshore wind turbine into mass manufacture by 'second half 2021'

GE's 12MW Haliade-X passes technology development milestone with DNV GL provisional type certification

The GE 12MW Haliade-X prototype in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands
The GE 12MW Haliade-X prototype in the Port of Rotterdam, the NetherlandsFoto: GE Renewable Energy
  • Darius Snieckus

Serial production of GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine, the world’s biggest at 12MW, is on track to start next year, with the US OEM reporting the design had been awarded a key technology certification by DNV-GL.

The provisional type certificate for the Haliade-X, a prototype of which is turning in the Port of Rotterdam, anoints the technology as having the “highest safety and quality standards,” said GE, “and provides evidence that its design is on-track to meet the full type certification requirements”, which would clear the model for manufacture.

“This is a very important milestone for us as it confirms the robustness of our Haliade-X 12MW design, and gives certainty to our current and future customers who believe in the attributes of our platform,” said John Lavelle, GE’s offshore wind CEO.

“When we introduced the Haliade-X 12MW we established a new paradigm in the industry, and we will continue to do so by innovating, improving, and introducing new features to our Haliade-X platform, making offshore wind a more affordable and competitive source of renewable energy.”

Kim Moerk, executive vice president for renewables certification at DNV GL, said: “GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW is a significant breakthrough for the offshore wind industry. Developing new and innovative technology always brings an element of uncertainty and risk.

“Type certification is a vital measure to demonstrate that new turbines will operate safely, reliably and according to requirements.”

Testing activities of the turbine’s 107-metre-long blade – under way at the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult R&D centre in Blythe, northeast England, and at the Wind Technology Testing Center in Boston, US – “will continue as planned to complete the documentation required to get the full type certificate in the months to come”.
GE said serial production of the Haliade-X at its Saint-Nazaire factory in France would start “during the second half of 2021”.
The turbine, which flies a 220-metre-diameter rotor powering a direct-drive transmission with permanent-magnet generator, is the largest offshore machine ever built and has been in testing since last November, though last month rival Siemens Gamesa unveiled a 15MW design expected to be ready for market by 2024.
GE has been selected as preferred supplier for Danish developer Orsted’s 120MW Skipjack and 1.1GW Ocean Wind projects in the US Atlantic, as well as at the UK’s 3.6GW Dogger Bank development, the world’s largest offshore wind farm in development, being built by Equinor and SSE.
The Haliade-X, the launch of which in March 2018 was reported exclusively in Recharge, is engineered to generate up to 67GWh of gross annual energy production, enough to supply power to over 16,000 European households and save up to 42,000 metric tonnes of CO2.
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Published 18 June 2020, 10:54Updated 18 June 2020, 11:00
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