Prototype most powerful wind turbine in the world Haliade-X 12 MW installed at Maasvlakte this summer
GE Renewable Energy and Future Wind (a joint venture of Pondera Development and SIF Holding Nederland) announced that they have signed an agreement regarding the installation of the first prototype of the Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbine at Rotterdam-Maasvlakte in the summer of 2019. The agreement covers a 5-year period for testing and a 15-year ‘full service’ operation and maintenance term.
The prototype of the offshore wind turbine will be installed on the coast to allow more effective testing. At the start of actual operations, GE Renewable Energy will collect the data required when applying for a type certificate – a key step in the further commercial exploitation of the product from 2021 on.
Contractors have already started site preparations for the installation of the turbine. The nacelle of the Haliade-X 12 MW prototype will be assembled in Saint-Nazaire, the three 107-m long LM rotor blades in Cherbourg and the masts in Seville. The parts will all be shipped to Rotterdam, where they will subsequently be assembled and installed.
The prototype in Rotterdam is part of a € 320 million investment in the Haliade-X project announced by GE Renewable Energy in March 2018. The purpose of this investment is to arrive at a more competitive source of clean, renewable energy.
