Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy cooperation: one step ahead in wind turbine technology developments

Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy cooperation: one step ahead in wind turbine technology developments

(PRESS RELEASE) STOCKHOLM, 16-May-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy to partner in the deployment of GE’s new wind turbine in Europe.

Haliade-X is the largest offshore wind turbine on the market to date, with a capacity of 12MW. The development and production of the new turbine will mostly take place in France: nacelle will be assembled in GE factory in Saint Nazaire; blades will be manufactured in LM Wind Power factory in Cherbourg.

Gunnar Groebler, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Wind, comments: “As a leader of the wind industry, we are constantly striving for top notch technology. The cooperation with GE Renewable Energy enables us to remain one step ahead in wind turbine technology developments. The size and performance of Haliade-X 12MW will support us to further improve the competitiveness of offshore wind energy production. Due to a lower number of turbines needed for future windfarms, there is also a positive impact on the environmental footprint.”

Vattenfall conducted an in-depth technical due diligence and in 12 months of intensive exchanges, both companies jointly worked on the customization of the platform. The cooperation’s final details will be defined by summer and the organizations will deep dive on specific projects within Vattenfall offshore wind pipeline in the fall.

Gunnar Groebler further comments: “Vattenfall wants to achieve fossil free living within one generation. By doing that it is also our role to use our capabilities to contribute to the development and reinforcement of the supply chain in Europe and in this particular case, in France.”

The longest blades to date

Haliade-X features a 220-meter rotor, a 107-meter blade (the longest ever manufactured). With the largest capacity factor in the industry, one 12 MW turbine can generate 67 GWh annually. This is enough to supply 16,000 European households with clean energy for one year[1].

The Haliade-X prototype is planned to be installed this summer in Rotterdam by GE Renewable Energy and the first commercial units will be shipped in 2021.

[1] calculated according to wind conditions on a typical German North Sea site.

For more information, please contact:

Vattenfall Press Office +46 8 739 50 10

GE Renewable Energy
Santiago Chacon, Offshore Wind Communications Leader
T: (+33) 2 49 62 37 70
M: (+33) 7 79 46 93 46

SOURCE: Vattenfall