Dutch energy company Eneco has struck a deal to purchase all power generated by GE Renewable Energy’s 12MW Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam.
The deal, announced during an inauguration event for the next-generation turbine on Tuesday, will cover output over the next five years of testing.
GE said the turbine, installed earlier this year, has generated 262MWh of power in one 24-hour period, enough to power 30,000 households.
Type certification is expected in 2020 allowing GE to commercialise the model by 2021.
Eneco chief operations officer Frans van de Noort said: “We are very proud of our cooperation with Future Wind and GE Renewable Energy, as it enables Eneco to purchase the green power produced by the Haliade-X prototype and to get hands on experience with this innovative and powerful new turbine that represents the future of offshore wind energy.”
GE offshore wind chief executive John Lavelle (pictured) added: “Along with the industry’s compelling value proposition, technology innovation is a key driver of the offshore wind market. Because it is the most powerful machine in the industry, the Haliade-X allows our customers to drive down the cost of wind energy and speed the adoption of clean, renewable energy.”
He added: “The testing that the prototype will undergo is one part of a multi-faceted testing process that will enable us to commercialize the Haliade-X by 2021, just in time for the strong growth uptick we are seeing in offshore wind worldwide.”
The Haliade-X technology has been selected already as the preferred wind turbine for 4.8GW of offshore projects.
The 12MW turbine will feature at the 120MW Skip Jack and 1,100 MW Ocean Wind projects in the US, and the 3,600 MW Dogger Bank project in the UK.
Serial production will start at the second half of 2021.