Huge 88-metre wind turbine blade—the world’s largest—emerges from Danish plant
by Cleantech Canada Staff
First blade for Adwen's new eight-megawatt turbine to undergo validation testing as company gears up for serial production
The first 88.4-metre blade for the Adwen eight-megawatt 8-180 turbine emerged from the factory in Denmark this week. PHOTO: Adwen
LUNDERSKOV, Denmark—With offshore wind projects continuing to root into the seabed along coasts worldwide, a pair of European wind energy companies are working together to ensure the industry maintains its upward momentum.
Danish rotor blade manufacturer LM Wind Power, and Adwen—itself a 50/50 joint venture between French energy company AREVA and Spanish turbine maker Gamesa—have teamed up on production of the world’s largest blades, specially-designed for Adwen’s new eight-megawatt turbine. Workers at LM’s plant in Lunderskov, Denmark completed work on the first 88.4 metre blade this week, and announced validation testing on the enormous component will begin shortly at a nearby site.
“The LM 88.4 P blade is an extraordinary example of industrialized innovation at record breaking scale,” Marc de Jong, LM’s CEO, said. “It is based on innovation building blocks, rooted in 35 years of real life experience, in the design, technology and manufacturing of ultra-long, reliable blades.”
Adwen said the new blade was designed to ensure manufacturability as well as reliability, and is “the best compromise between swept area, energy production, and the weight as well as the loads transferred to the wind turbine.”
Surpassing the 80-metre blades of both the Vestas V164 turbine and an experimental Japanese floating turbine anchored off Fukushima last year, the record-breaking blades will allow offshore wind developers to harness more energy from each tower.
Adwen hopes to commence serial production on its new line of 8-180 turbines by 2018.
