GE Confirms Offshore (wind) Turbine Details (big ~ 4 MW each)

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/02/ge-confirms-offshore-turbine-details

In the wake of the September 2009 acquisition of ScanWind, GE has confirmed some design details of its forthcoming offshore wind machine, which is set to mark the company's substantive entry into the offshore arena.

Speaking at the company’s ‘The future of alternative energy summit’, Stephan Ritter, GE Energy’s general manager for Renewable Energy Europe, confirmed a larger rotor diameter than the current 90.6 metre design and a power rating of some 4 MW. This compares with a 3.5 MW rating on the existing ScanWind models.

The variable pitch, direct drive machine will feature a permanent magnet generator, avoiding the use of a high speed gearbox. Ritter says the top head mass (THM) of around 250 tonnes is competitive with other manufacturers’ current designs.

Although still coy with regard to the exact name plate capacity, Ritter did acknowledge that the machine would be “a bit bigger”, than the existing design with an up-rated generator, “It’s going to be around 4 MW”, he said, observing: “More importantly, it’s going to have a bigger rotor.”

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