Shipping wind turbines is not a breeze(freightwaves.com)
freightwaves.com
Shipping wind turbines is not a breeze
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shipping-wind-turbines-is-not-a-breeze
41 comments
Vestas is heavily marketing their 5.6 MW platform now, and at least sending preliminary sales and design information to clients. We're probably a couple of years out from installing any that big though.
The real surprise is how fast capacity has jumped. We went through a period of rapid size increase, then a decade plus plateau around the 2 MW mark, and now a very rapid rise to 4+ MW onshore.
It's true we get to better winds higher up, but we also see some significant cost advantages related to building fewer turbine foundations, needing to erect fewer individual units and having relatively fewer miles of site road and collection to achieve the same production.
The real surprise is how fast capacity has jumped. We went through a period of rapid size increase, then a decade plus plateau around the 2 MW mark, and now a very rapid rise to 4+ MW onshore.
It's true we get to better winds higher up, but we also see some significant cost advantages related to building fewer turbine foundations, needing to erect fewer individual units and having relatively fewer miles of site road and collection to achieve the same production.
GE has a 12 MW turbine: https://www.ge.com/renewableenergy/wind-energy/offshore-wind...
Right, but the Haliade-X is still under development. It's supposed to be available in 2021. I linked to the largest turbine model I knew of that is already in commercial service.
Blades for this turbine are being manufactured in Cherbourg, France and are 107 meters long.
See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lm-wind-power_haliadex-weknow...
Your link [2] says it can be used onshore :-)
It is an insanely awesomely large machine too. 66,000 volts! Wow, just wow.
It is an insanely awesomely large machine too. 66,000 volts! Wow, just wow.
the generator in the wind turbine is not generating at 66 kV. There is a transformer in the base of the turbine to step the voltage up to 66 kV. A 10 MW generator is typically at 6.9 kV, although could be up to 13.8 kV.
Ha, you're right. But I have never heard of an onshore wind farm built using these -- only offshore projects.
In NL we have a whole bunch of those large Enercon units near the village of Urk. Well worth a stop if you're ever on A6, it is an amazing sight especially up close.
Added to my list of places to stop next time I'm on the continent, thanks!
Here is a sample image:
https://www.lc.nl/friesland/vt0xee-201601064142/ALTERNATES/W...
And if you do make it here then please let me know and I'll be happy to buy you dinner.
https://www.lc.nl/friesland/vt0xee-201601064142/ALTERNATES/W...
And if you do make it here then please let me know and I'll be happy to buy you dinner.
> The largest onshore turbine is 5.3 megawatts [1]
Enercon wants a word with you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enercon_E-126
And Vestas has an even larger one.
Enercon wants a word with you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enercon_E-126
And Vestas has an even larger one.
Given the huge promise of terrestrial wind farms, it seems like someone is right now figuring out a way to either a) fabricate them on-site, or b) fly the parts in via drone or dirigible.
GE is definitely working on this. A friend of mine was telling me they have pretty elaborate setups for welding or connecting the pieces of the blades while out in the field.
I have driven alongside trucks carrying single turbine blades on midwest highways many times and I can tell you many people would be very uncomfortable seeing something even larger flying across the countryside.
flying heavy components in a location where the winds are strong enough for wind power generation might pose some exciting challenges.
Both seem pretty challenging.
Building "on-site" is tough because the "sites" are by definition scattered around, often in the countrysite with little infrastructure. On one site you only have a handful of turbines to install.
Flying large objects is challenging. There have been attempts to transport large cargo with zeppelins, but it's more of a failure story of German industry politics [1].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CargoLifter
Building "on-site" is tough because the "sites" are by definition scattered around, often in the countrysite with little infrastructure. On one site you only have a handful of turbines to install.
Flying large objects is challenging. There have been attempts to transport large cargo with zeppelins, but it's more of a failure story of German industry politics [1].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CargoLifter
Came here to say the same thing--Looks like they're doing enough business to consider blimps.
Very tall turbines tend to improve capacity factor and project economics by tapping steadier winds found further away from the ground. For onshore projects, at least, that benefit is in tension with the more difficult transport and assembly logistics noted in this article.
Solar has the logistics edge in that all of the components for a solar farm are much smaller and weigh less. Even the largest individual solar modules are under 40 kilograms each. Racking systems are also assembled out of smaller pieces. No oversized loads need to be transported to the solar farm site. There are more truckloads of components for a 400 megawatt solar farm vs. a 400 kilowatt farm, but the individual components and trucks need be no larger.
[1] https://www.genewsroom.com/press-releases/ges-largest-onshor...
[2] https://en.wind-turbine-models.com/turbines/1605-mhi-vestas-...