Vestas has completed assembly of its 15MW turbine nacelle prototype which is now ready for testing.
The completion of the V236-15.0MW prototype nacelle at the factory in Lindø, port of Odense, in Denmark, is the culmination of the “dedicated efforts of a wide range of Vestas teams”.
“Colleagues across the Vestas value chain have worked very hard and collaborated closely to ensure the rapid progress in developing and assembling the V236-15.0 MW prototype, and we take important learnings with us as we move forward towards serial production”, said Vestas Chief Operations Officer Tommy Rahbek Nielsen.
The nacelle is now being prepared for a comprehensive series of tests that will be performed in the production environment at the Lindø factory.
These tests ensure that any improvement opportunities can be “frontloaded” before final installation.
In addition to mechanical testing, software for controlling the turbine will undergo strict control to verify the integrity and functioning of all electrical and mechanical interfaces between the modules.
The test programme will end with the physical rotation of the turbine’s drive train, before it is shipped to the Østerild test site for installation on the finished turbine.
This prototype nacelle is the first manifestation of Vestas’ modular nacelle design.
The modular nacelle components takes advantage of industrial standards, as the side-compartments are dimensionally designed to correspond to general industry standards rather than challenging them.
The modular nacelle concept has been applied to Vestas’ latest EnVentus onshore turbines, the V162-7.2MW and V172-7.2MW.