A huge part of an offshore wind turbine has arrived at the Port of Blyth for testing in the UK.
The arrival of the Haliade- 150 six megawatt (MW) nacelle, which houses key components of the turbine, marks the start of General Electric’s research and development activities in the UK.
The turbine will undergo 12 months of testing at Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s (OREC) 15MW facility in Blyth, replicating real-world conditions.
OREC is the UK’s leading research centre for offshore renewables.
The wind turbine is capable of generating enough electricity to power 5,000 homes and is already being used in Rhode Island in the US and in Germany.
The video from OREC shows the nacelle arriving at the port from the Happy Sky vessel, having been transported from Saint-Nazaire in France.
John Lavelle, Vice President & CEO of GE’s Offshore Wind business, said “We decided to take our Haliade 150-6MW to ORE Catapult’s site to be tested under rough and extreme conditions in a short period of time, that will allow us to collect data to be used on our recently announced Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine.
“We will utilise the data and learnings to maximise availability and power output, while introducing new features to meet customers’ demands.”
OREC test and validation director Tony Quinn said, “GE’s Haliade programmes will be the first to use the Catapult’s 15MW drive train test facility, and the investment in this technology is paramount to bringing such world-leading research and development programmes to the UK, supporting a strong local supply chain and innovation to service the offshore wind industry’s ambitious growth plans.”
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