The new turbine has the working title Haliade-X. According to Bloomberg, the electricity generating contraption will measure 260 meters tall. To put the size further into context, its blades, which will be manufactured by LM Wind Power, will be longer than a soccer field.
GE states that the 12-megawatt turbine will generate 67 gigawatt hours a year. This will be sufficient to power 5,000 households. The Haliade-X also has a 63 percent capacity factor, which compares how much energy was generated against the maximum that could have been produced at continuous full power operation during a specific period of time.
This means the turbine will be up to seven points above industry standard. This means the Haliade-X 12 MW will produce 45 percent more energy than any other offshore wind turbine available today. This is based on based on wind conditions at a “typical” site in the German North Sea.
In a statement, John Flannery, who is the Chairman and CEO of GE explains: “We want to lead in the technologies that are driving the global energy transition. Offshore wind is one of those technologies and we will bring the full resources of GE to make the Haliade-X program successful for our customers.”
GE plans to supply its first turbine for demonstration in 2019 and ship the first units in 2021.
