GE Renewable Energy will soon take delivery of four tower sections that will be part of the company’s 12MW Haliade-X prototype to be installed later this summer at Maasvlakte-Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The sections have been made at GRI’s site in Seville and will be arriving in the Netherlands before the end of the month, GE said.
The company said that on arrival in Rotterdam, a series of pre-assembly works will take place, including the installation of some tower segments.
When the nacelle and blade components arrive later in the summer, local teams will complete the prototype installation, GE added.
GE Renewable Energy president chief executive of offshore wind John Lavelle said: “The shipping of tower sections is another important milestone in the development of our Haliade-X 12MW prototype in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam.
“Our teams in Cherbourg and Saint-Nazaire are rapidly progressing on Haliade-X assembly, and we are working to get the unit fully installed before the end of the summer.”
The nacelle is currently being assembled in Saint-Nazaire, while its 107-metre long blades are being manufactured at the LM Wind Power site in Cherbourg, both in France.
GE said that the prototype will be installed onshore to provide easier access for testing.
During the initial period of operations, the company will collect data needed to obtain type certification, an important step before serial production in 2021.