Projects order 1,248, 1.6-MW turbines
November 15, 2011 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Wind Power News, Wind Power Projects, Wind Turbine Installation
The 1.6 MW turbine offers a 47% increase in swept area over previous megawatt-class models, resulting in a 19% increase in annual energy production at 7.5 m/s.
GE says it has secured more than 1,200 MW of commitments for its 1.6-100 wind turbine. The 750 additional turbines bring the total number of orders and commitments to $2.7 billion and more than 2 GW to date. In August 2011, developers selected the turbine for 10 new projects. In total, 1,248 of the 1.6-100 wind turbine technology will be put into wind farms in North and South America over the next two years.
Launched in May 2011, GE’s 1.6-100 wind turbine is designed for increased performance and is the world’s most efficient wind turbine in its class. With blades and towers that extend 100 m, the 1.6-100 captures additional wind energy.
“The 1.6-100 lets owners develop wind farms in lower wind speed sites that were previously not viable,” says GE VP for renewable energy Victor Abate. The wind turbine offers a 47% increase in swept area over previous megawatt-class models, resulting in a 19% increase in annual energy production at 7.5 m/s. This improvement lets the turbine deliver IEC Type Class II (moderate wind speed) performance while operating in a Type Class III (low-wind) environment.
GE Energy
www.GE.com
Windpower Engineering Editor Paul Dvorak is an experienced mechanical engineer. Paul has seven years of hands on mechanical engineering experience and 23 years of technical writing. Paul is constantly in correspondence with wind turbine manufacturers and wind power researchers. Thanks to this correspondence, he is able to write about wind engineering topics before any other editor in the wind space.
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