14 DAY TRIAL // This past November 20, manufacturing company Alstom went public with the news that it had finished installing a monster offshore wind turbine in the waters off Ostend Harbour in Belgium.
The turbine, dubbed Haliade 150, is argued to be the largest of its kind to have ever been successfully installed offshore.
"Alstom has just completed this week-end the at sea installation of its new-generation offshore wind turbine, the Haliade 150, off Ostend harbour at the Belwind site in Belgium. This is the largest offshore wind turbine ever installed in sea waters," the company writes in a press release.
Alstom says that, all things considered, the structure weighs somewhere around 1,500 tons.
The pillars supporting it reach depths of over 60 meters (197 feet), its jacket is 61 meters (200 feet) tall, its tower measures 78 meters (256 feet), its nacelle sits nearly 100 meters (328 feet) above sea level and its blades are 73 meters (239.5 feet) long.
The wind turbine has an energy generating capacity of 6MW. Alstom estimates that this output is more than enough to meet the electricity demands of 5,000 households.
Interestingly enough, the turbine owes its impressive energy generation capacity to more than just its size. Thus, thanks to an innovative design, the turbine has no need for a gearbox, and relies on direct drive instead.
Taken together, these two features, i.e. the size and the new design, make it possible for the structure to deliver 15% more energy than conventional offshore wind turbines do.
Before being installed offshore, the design was tested on land. Engineers working with Alstom now wish to determine how the turbine will behave out at sea.
"This installation will help in confirming how the machine behaves within the offshore environment for which it was specifically designed and developed," the company details.
Commenting on Alstom's collaboration with offshore wind farm Belwind, the company's Senior Vice-President Alfonso Faubel said that, "This project with Belwind asserts our technological leadership and our innovative abilities. The installation of our turbine which is simple, robust and efficient thus contributing in boosting the competitiveness of offshore wind energy."
"Belwind’s tried and tested expertise in completing offshore projects and setting up wind farms has helped Alstom to perform the installation work in sea waters under the best possible conditions. We are convinced that Alstom’s innovative wind energy technology will contribute in providing one of the future solutions to ensure clean, reliable and efficient energy," added Belwind chairman Wim Biesemans.