GE’s monster Haliade-X offshore wind turbine now officially most powerful in world

When it comes to wind turbines, the bigger the better.

That’s the message from developers worldwide as a push to establish offshore wind farms accelerates.

GE Renewable Energy on Friday said its Haliade-X wind turbine, the first 12 MW+ turbine built, has received a full type certificate for operations up to 14.7 MW from DNV GL, the world’s largest independent certification body.

This type certification, which follows earlier certification that the Haliade-X could operate at up to 13.6 MW, provides independent verification that these turbines will operate safely, reliably and according to design specifications — making the Haliade-X the most powerful turbine with a full type certification, according to  GE.

As reported by RenewEconomy the offshore wind industry in late November marked a milestone, when the world’s most powerful turbine – a 16MW giant from Goldwind and China Three Gorges – rolled off the production line in east China’s Fujian province.

CTG boasted at the time that the annual output of just one of the offshore turbines, estimated to average over 66 million kWh, can meet the annual demand of 36,000 households, save 22K tonnes of standard coal, and reduce 54K tonnes of CO2.

Offshore wind farms are, arguably, one of the most attractive long-term renewable energy technologies currently available, particularly for countries short of available land, and it is one of the technologies with the most potential to grow in capacity and generation.

DNV forecasts see 2TW of grid installed offshore wind capacity by 2050, with ongoing increases in turbine, blade, and tower size leading to improvements in the capacity factors.

In Australia, the plans outlined for the more than 50GW of offshore wind projects assume wind turbines of 20MW or more, although many of these are not expected to be installed for another decade.

The first use of the certification for GE will be for the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK, earmarked be the largest offshore wind farm in the world when completed.

The certification can be used at up to 14.7 MW and will be applicable for the eighty-seven 14 MW turbines that will be used at Dogger Bank C. (Due to its enormity, the site is being built in three consecutive phases:  A, B and C.)

The UK is the largest global player in offshore wind, with a current installed base of nearly 8 GW—enough electricity to power 7 million homes—and another 7 GW committed or under construction.

With a goal to increase offshore wind energy generation to at least 30 GW by 2030, the UK is set to keep growing in offshore wind, and more than 30 additional wind farms and related projects are already in planning or development.

Dogger Bank is a joint venture between Norwegian based companies Equinor and Vargronn and the UK’s SSE Renewables.

“The full type certification gives customers confidence that the Haliade-X has been designed, manufactured, and tested in a manner consistent with internationally recognized standards,” Vincent Schellings, chief technology officer for offshore wind at GE Renewable Energy, said in a statement.