GE Renewable Energy today unveiled its plan to develop the largest, most powerful offshore wind turbine.
Featuring a 12 MW direct drive generator and an industry leading gross capacity factor of 63 percent, the Haliade-X turbine will produce 45 percent more energy than any other offshore turbine currently available.
GE say they will invest more than $400 million over the next three to five years in development and deployment of the Haliade-X.
John Flannery, Chairman and CEO of GE said, “We want to lead in the technologies that are driving the global energy transition. Offshore wind is one of those technologies and we will bring the full resources of GE to make the Haliade-X program successful for our customers.”
Towering 260 meters over the sea, more than five times the size of the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, the Haliade-X 12 MW carries a 220-meter rotor. Designed and manufactured by LM Wind Power, the 107-meter-long blades will be the longest offshore blades to date and will be longer than the size of a soccer field. One Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will generate up to 67 GWh annually, enough clean power for up to 5,000 households per turbine, and up to 300,000 U.S. households in a 750 MW windfarm 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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