GE will test the world's largest 12 MW wind turbine with 107-meter blades

General Energy DivisionElectric will test the elements of today's largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine GE Haliade-X 12 MW, whose blades are longer than the football field.

At Boston Harbor GE Renewable EnergyIntroduced the first 107 meter long blade, which will undergo a series of fatigue tests over the next few months. The tests will simulate the conditions that she will encounter after 25 years of operation at sea. Other elements are already being tested at the British plant in Blyth, and the first prototype turbines in rotterdam.

When working offshore, a 12 MW Haliade-X turbine can generate up to 67 GW of energy per year. This is enough to meet the needs of about 5 thousand houses or apartments.

According to the developers, not against the background of the growth of the coastal wind energy market, the new generator will help reduce the cost of clean energy and accelerate the development of renewable energy.

This is due to the fact that longer bladesallow the turbine to capture more wind, increasing the power factor of the installation up to 63%. According to the International Energy Agency, for current marine wind generators, this figure averages 40%.

Currently the largest working installationis the development of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. At the beginning of the year, she launched the first SG 10.0-193 DD wind generator with a capacity of 10 MW, the length of the blades of which is 94 meters.