Pre-series models of Gamesa's G11X-5.0 MW will be ready for market entry in 2013.
A Spain-based turbine OEM has showcased advances in its offshore strategy, specifically with respect to the technological design and development of the G11X-5.0 MW platform. Gamesa’s wind turbine will be equipped with a 128-m rotor along with a modular and redundant design that will enable partial-load operations while guaranteeing reliability and maximizing energy production.
“We’re working to introduce even greater innovations by designing our offshore turbines to minimize down time, reduce maintenance work, ensure competitive energy costs, and provide optimal returns throughout the entire useful life of the wind farm,” says Gamesa offshore managing Director Javier Perea.
This equipment, designed and developed for the G10X-4.5 MW platform, includes:
- CompacTrain, a drive train made of a semi-integrated main shaft and a two-stage gearbox with mid-speed range output. This makes the unit more compact, with fewer components. The mid-speed range output improves reliability by eliminating high-speed rotating mechanical components, minimizing maintenance work.
- Gamesa MultiSmart: The control system uses data gathered to regulate each blade individually, moderating vibration and reducing loads up to 30%. This control system optimizes aerodynamics, control, and efficiency, all with a view to maximizing energy output.
- Gamesa FlexiFit: The crane, coupled to the nacelle makes offshore wind farm servicing more flexible and simplifies maintenance and assembly work. Gamesa FlexiFit eliminates the need to use high-tonnage barge-mounted cranes for maintenance work. Once attached to the nacelle, the crane can hoist and lower main nacelle modules (hub, gearbox, generator, transformer, heat exchanger, among others).
- Gamesa GridMate: Redundant electrical system based on a permanent magnet synchronous generator and a full converter. The system comprises parallel modules which continue to function in the event of individual failure while also enabling partial capacity configurations.
In February 2011, Gamesa and Newport News Shipbuilding opened the Offshore Wind Technology Center in Chesapeake, Va. Since then, more than 80 engineers have been working jointly to develop the Gamesa G11X-5.0 MW offshore prototype and install the first offshore turbine for comprehensive testing by the fourth quarter of 2012 along the mid-Atlantic coast. Pre-series models of the G11X-5.0 MW will be ready for market entry in 2013.
Gamesa
www.Gamesa.com
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