Alstom obtains final certification for offshore wind turbine
The Alstom's Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine has secured its final certification for the Carnet site in France from the certification body DNV-GL. This is major step and a prerequisite for commercial operation, demonstrating the wind turbine's overall efficiency. The Haliade will be produced in the Saint-Nazaire plant inaugurated on 2 December 2014. It has already been chosen for the Block Island project in the United States and by EDF-EN for three French projects representing a total of 1.5 GW.
Already in May 2013, the Haliade obtained certification of its power curve. The final tests verified that the wind turbine was perfectly compliant with the design models in terms of its reliability, manufacturing and the maintenance of its main components.
"The aim of the measurements and testing carried out by Alstom is to confirm the performance of our wind turbine. We are proud of having successfully achieved this milestone, which is important for next step of commercial operation of the Haliade", declared Yves Rannou, Senior Vice President of Alstom Wind business.
Another Haliade wind turbine has been installed off the coast of Belgium at the Belwind site to verify the procedures for wind turbine production, installation, commissioning and operation.
With the Haliade 150, Alstom has designed a simple, robust and efficient offshore wind turbine, one of the largest of its kind in the world to date. The Haliade 150-6MW is a direct-drive wind turbine that works without a gearbox and features a permanent magnet generator designed by GEPC (General Electric Power Conversion), specialists in energy conversion. Like all Alstom wind turbines, the Haliade is founded on Alstom Pure Torque technology, which protects the generator by safely deflecting bending stress towards the tower, optimising turbine performance.
