The GE Renewable Energy offshore wind-turbine plant in Saint-Nazaire, France, is completing the manufacturing of its first commercial series of Haliade Offshore wind turbine nacelles. The five 370-ton nacelles were scheduled to begin their voyage to the United States in July. They will equip the Block Island Wind Farm, the first of its kind in the U.S.
The Block Island project is off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The Haliade turbines, ordered by Deepwater Wind, will be installed starting in August. With a total capacity of 30 MW, the Block Island Wind Farm will produce 125,000 MW/h of electricity per year, enough to supply electric power to 17,000 households. It will be connected to the grid by the end of 2016.
“This marks a milestone for the company, and we are proud to contribute to the Block Island project, the first offshore wind farm in the United States,” said Anders Soe-Jensen, CEO of GE Renewable Energy’s Offshore Wind unit. “This demonstrates our readiness to respond to expanding international demand. We are well-positioned to become a major player in offshore wind energy, and to lead in the energy transition across the world.”
“We’re proud that America’s first offshore wind farm will feature, in GE’s Haliade turbine, some of the world’s most innovative offshore wind technology,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski.
The industrial site at Saint-Nazaire was designed to produce up to 100 turbines per year.
The plant also will be the assembly site for 66 wind turbines intended for the Merkur wind farm in Germany, followed by 238 turbines slated to equip the three French wind farms in Saint-Nazaire, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Fécamp installed by EDF Energies Nouvelles.
The Haliade turbine specifically was designed for a marine environment. Due to its 150-meter blades, its output is 15 percent higher than the offshore turbines of the same generation. Producing 6 MW of power, it is capable of supplying the equivalent of 5,000 households per year, with annual carbon dioxide savings of more than 23,000 tons. At a total height of more than 550 feet, the Haliade is almost twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Its blade, which measures almost 500 feet in diameter, is comparable to twice the wingspan of an Airbus. Its outsized blades cover a surface area of 58,595.8 square feet, three times the area of a football field.
GE Renewable Energy is a $9 billion start-up within GE and brings together one of the broadest and deepest portfolios in the renewable energy industry. The company has the largest renewable energy installed base with 370 GW and is present in more than 40 countries.
Source GE Renewable Energy
For more information, go to www.ge.com.
