Vattenfall and GE Renewable Energy have partnered to support the development and deployment of GE’s new wind turbine: the Haliade-X. With a capacity of 12 MW, the Haliade-X is the largest offshore wind turbine on the market to date.

GE Renewable Energy plans to install the Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam this summer and to ship the first commercial units in 2021. (Image: GE)

“The cooperation with GE Renewable Energy enables us to remain one step ahead in wind turbine technology developments,” said Gunnar Groebler, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Wind. “The size and performance of Haliade-X 12 MW will support us to further improve the competitiveness of offshore wind energy production. Due to a lower number of turbines needed for future wind farms, there is also a positive impact on the environmental footprint.”

The 12 MW turbine features a 220-meter rotor, a 107-meter blade (the longest ever manufactured). With the largest capacity factor in the industry, one Haliade-X turbine can generate 67 GWh annually. This is enough clean energy to supply 16,000 European households for one year.

This partnership is the result of 12 months of intensive exchanges, during which Vattenfall conducted an in-depth technical due diligence and both companies jointly worked on the customization of the platform. The final details of the cooperation will be defined by summer and the organizations will deep dive on specific projects within Vattenfall offshore wind pipeline in the fall.

Development and production of the massive wind turbine will mostly take place in France. The nacelle will be assembled in GE factory in Saint Nazaire and the blades will be manufactured in LM Wind Power factory in Cherbourg.