GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine prototype operating at 13 MW

GE Renewable Energy announced today that its Haliade-X prototype, the world’s most powerful wind turbine operating to date, has being optimized and is now operating at a 13 MW power output. During the following months, this prototype will undergo a series of tests to perform different types of measurements and obtain its type certificate in the coming months.

The Haliade-X 13 MW, which is an uprated version of the prototype that has been successfully operating in Rotterdam since November 2019, recently secured its provisional type certificate§ and set a new world record by generating 288 MWh in one single day.

This uprated 13 MW Haliade-X version will continue to feature 107-meter long blades and a 220-meter rotor and will be able to generate 4% more Annual Energy Production (AEP) than the previous 12 MW version of the prototype.

Vincent Schellings, Chief Technology Officer for Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy, said “With three years in the making, the Haliade-X platform has proven to be a successful story. Combined with almost 5 GW of customer commitments and an international testing and R&D program, the 13 MW uprated version is a true testament of how we continue to innovate and develop our Haliade-X technology to address our customers’ needs.”

The Haliade-X 13 MW offshore wind turbine will be used in the first two phases of UK’s Dogger Bank Wind Farm, with a total of 190 units to be installed starting in 2023. This will mark the first installation of the world’s most powerful wind turbine in operation to date at what will be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm.

The Haliade-X technology has also been selected as the preferred wind turbine for the 120 MW Skipjack and 1,100 MW Ocean Wind projects in the US.

Launched in 2018, GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind platform is helping to drive down offshore wind’s levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and is making offshore wind energy a more affordable source of renewable energy. The Haliade-X platform serial production will kick off in the second half of 2021 at GE’s Saint-Nazaire factory in France.

The prototype located in Rotterdam set a new world record in January 2020 by generating 288 MWh of continuous power in one day. It has also been recognized as the Best Sustainable Invention of the Year by TIME magazine (December 2019) and Best Wind Turbine of the Year (January 2020) by Wind Power Monthly magazine.

HALIADE-X 13 MW FIGURES

• 13 MW capacity
• 220-meter rotor
• 248 meters high
• 107-meter long blades
• 38,000 m2 swept area
• One Haliade-X 13 MW will be able to generate 4% more Annual Energy Production (AEP) than the previous 12 MW version of the prototype
• One spin can generate enough electricity to power one house for more than two days

§ IECRE Provisional RNA Component Certificate by DNV-GL
* Gross performance based on wind conditions on a typical German North Sea site
** According to EPA Greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator