Location: West Branch, Iowa
Technology: Wind turbine generator engineering and assembly
Collaborators: Ryan Companies US, Inc; R&M Materials Handling
Construction completed: November 2007; turbine assembly commenced December 2007
Wind turbine output: 450 unit annual capacity
Turbine models produced: AW-1500; AW-3000, near future
Investment total: $30 million
The AW-1500 has rotor diameters of 70, 77 or 82 meters and tower heights of 60 and 80 meters, and is GL certified for IEC wind classes Ia, IIa, IIb.
The AW-3000 is designed based on the same technology of the AW-1500 and will achieve greater energy production per wind turbine location. This turbine is designed for IEC classes Ia, IIa, IIIa. The manufacturer has been operating an AW-3000 prototype since October 2008, and will install additional 60 Hz AW-3000 machines in North America by 2011. The turbine will be made commercially available in the near future.
Other features of ACCIONA Windpower include:
* Generation at 12 kV, which may eliminate the need for step-up transformers on some sites, thus realizing significant cost benefits
* Double-bearing support on the main shaft to reduce bending loads on the gearbox
* Hydraulic pitch control to provide safe and reliable blade pitching in all wind environments
* A 6-pole doubly-fed induction generator for improved voltage and frequency stability
* Zero voltage ride-through beyond current FERC requirements, in addition to grid integration and reactive power solutions
* Compliance with CE, CSA and UL requirements
* Control software that allows intelligent automatic monitoring and operation
Safety
Lifts – The two-person lift that comes standard in every ACCIONA Windpower turbine eliminates common industry issues like ergonomic injuries of the back, hips and knees.
Hub access – Access to the hub from inside the nacelle eliminates the risk of a fall.
Nacelle design – The nacelle is designed to be spacious, allowing technicians to move easily within. The manufacturer has also implemented protection from rotating parts.
Transformers – For those project that require a step-up transformer, the manufacturer installs the equipment outside the nacelle, which reduces the risk of equipment damage if the uncommon, but potential incident of a transformer fire.
The plant in Iowa has an annual production capacity of 450 units (675 MW) – and including our two plants in Spain our total global annual production capacity is 2,025 MW.
acciona Windpower
Filed Under: Generators
i wonder if much smaller units can be assembled ( 5 kw,10 kw ,20 kw) for remote locations .?
Mohammad Sartawi(Chem.Eng.,CCE)
Kathleen:
Good post; those are HUGE generators & exactly what is needed to help us get off fossil fuels. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Daniel.
p.s., I just wrote an article here on the good and the bad about wind powered generators.