Less maintenance for new wind turbine

Siemans Energy announced today the new SWT-3.0.101 with a rated power of 3 megawatts (MW) offers innovation through a new direct drive concept introducing a permanent magnet generator. With half the parts of a conventional geared wind turbine, and much less than half the number of moving parts, the new wind turbine will require less maintenance and increase profitability for customers. The new direct drive wind turbine features a rotor diameter of 101 meters and is now available for sale for on-shore and off-shore projects around the world.

The picture shows the new SWT-3.0-101 DD wind turbine. The new prototype is a gearless machine with a power rating of three megawatts (MW) and has a rotor diameter of 101 meters.

The new SWT-3.0-101 features a gearless drive train design with a compact, synchronous generator, excited by permanent magnets. The generator of the first prototype machine, which was installed in Denmark in 2009, was produced by the Large Drives Business Unit within the Siemens Industry Sector. The main advantage of permanent magnet generators is their simple and robust design that requires no excitation power, slip rings or excitation control systems.

With a length of 6.8 meters and a diameter of only 4.2 meters, the nacelle can be transported using standard vehicles commonly available in most major markets. “The nacelle of SWT-3.0-101 weighs only 73 tons, which is less than the nacelle of our standard 2.3-MW wind turbine”, added Henrik Stiesdal. “But despite the compact design, we have actually given our service technicians more space to operate – simply because we radically reduced the number of parts”.

Of the five key components in a wind turbine – the blade, rotor hub, nacelle, tower and the controller – all but the nacelle are adapted from Siemens existing portfolio. By utilizing proven components, Siemens has endeavored to eliminate the risks traditionally associated with the introduction of such an innovative product.