The onshore turbine is similar to the 6 MW offshore unit. LM Wind Power supplies the wind industry with operations from 13 manufacturing facilities worldwide, and more than 140,000 blades produced since 1978.
LM Wind Power’s 73.5-m blades became the first 70+ meter working blades to be installed when Alstom inaugurated the largest offshore wind turbine in the world on March 19 at Carnet in the Loire-Atlantique region of France.
The impressive composite structures have been developed specifically for Alstom’s Haliade 150-6MW wind turbine in a close collaboration between the two companies to boost energy capture while keeping loads down. The innovative blade design has already been through several rounds of testing before being installed on the turbine in France.
“It was great to see LM blades mounted on the newest and biggest turbine in the world as well as see the excitement this technological leap has made in the offshore world,” says LM Wind Power VP Sales & Marketing Ian Telford. “Our technology lets us design and manufacture relatively lighter glass fiber and polyester blades for the length, but above all, the company has proven ability to handle the industrialization of these blades, which is not easy.”
Alstom’s Haliade 150-6MW turbine has been EDF-EN / Dong Energy’s choice developed in response to a call for tenders launched by the French government that aims to install 3 GW of wind turbine power off French shores by 2015. Depending on the results of the tenders, Alstom and LM Wind Power plan to establish a blade manufacturing facility in Cherbourg with capacity to produce up to 100 sets of 73.5 meter blades per year. Production is planned to start in 2016.
LM Wind Power
www.lmwindpower.com
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