Turbine manufacturer GE has taken the wraps off a new 5MW-plus onshore wind turbine featuring a novel two-piece blade design.
The 5.3-158 is part of the Cypress platform to be unveiled at WindEnergy Hamburg 2018 this week.
The new machine offers a 50% increase in annual energy production compared with GE’s 3MW platform.
Increased servicing efficiency and improved logistics and siting potential are also part of the package.
“The machine is specifically designed for services, with enhancements to help with facilitating up-tower repairs and troubleshooting with its up-tower electrical system, while also pushing the limits of traditional reliability levels on major components, through increased systems level hardware testing and more robust manufacturing processes,” said GE.
“This combination of planned, condition-based and predictive services will help to ensure more reliability, uptime and production while ultimately lowering lifecycle costs for the customer.”
GE said the unit is “designed to scale over time” with a “wider array of power ratings and hub heights” to meet customer need “throughout the 5MW range”.
Group company LM Wind Power as well as GE’s onshore wind business and global research centre combined to design the two-piece carbon blade, which the US company says will unlock acreage for the turbine in “previously inaccessible” locations.
The method will allow for longer blades to be manufactured and will also improve transport logistics as well as offer more siting options to developers.
“It significantly drives down logistical costs, by enabling blade assembly onsite and reducing the costs for permitting equipment and road work required for transporting longer blades,” said the company.
“Equally importantly, it features blade tips that offer customers greater flexibility to address site wind conditions and requirements.”
The Cypress platform, which includes the previously announced 4.8-158 machine, is designed for IEC (S) wind speeds.
A prototype of the 4.8MW unit is in production at the Salzbergen facility in Germany and is to be deployed by the year-end, according to GE onshore chief executive Pete McCabe.
He added: “Our mission is to enable our customers to set the pace for lowering the levelised cost of energy around the world, as their needs continue to evolve.
“The Cypress platform builds on our track record of success and positions our technology for scalability and flexibility for the coming years.
“This platform, which reflects our relentless focus on quality, will enable our customers to achieve a new level of competitiveness in the power generation marketplace.”
LM Wind chief executive Duncan Berry said: “This exciting blade enhancement is revolutionising the offerings that we can provide for GE’s customers.
“Our team used a disruptive design methodology and customer feedback to re-examine our entire design and manufacturing process.
“By looking at this blade in an entirely new way, we achieved a technology breakthrough that will allow us to bring the new blades to market even faster for our customers.”