While Alstom claim their Ecotècnia 100 wind turbine is the highest capacity production-line onshore wind turbine in the world, Vestas and Acciona already sell 3 MW turbines. Repower also offers its 5 MW onshore wind turbine, while Siemens has a 3.6 MW onshore turbine on its books. Other manufacturers have also developed prototypes that exceed the nominal power of the ecotècnia 100, such as the Gamesa 4.5 MW turbine, installed in Jaulín (Zaragoza, Spain).
Nevertheless, the Ecotècnia 100 wind turbine certainly is a giant, standing at 140 metres high, the equivalent of a 50 storey building, with a rotor diameter of 100 metres and a blade length of 48.8 metres. The design enables maximum benefit to be derived from the wind, including moderate winds, and can withstand wind speeds of up to 8.5 metres/sec. The Ecotècnia 100 wind turbines deliver enough power to allow a given number of MW to be produced with fewer units, thus reducing the land area required.
The electricity generated by Vieux Moulin wind farm located in France’s Centre region will meet the needs of 12,000 homes and avoid the production of 42,000 tonnes a year of carbon dioxide (source: European Wind Energy Association). The Essonne valley where the wind farm is sited records average wind speeds of 7.5 metres/sec and nearly 20 wind-farm sites lie within a 50 km radius. The Centre region is one of the three largest regions in France in terms of wind-generated electricity production, with 423 MW of installed capacity, behind only Picardy (555 MW) and Lorraine (481 MW), according to ADEME, France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency.
“Alstom’s investment in R&D has enabled the group to develop a wind power technology that gives our customers better availability of the equipment over the long term. It also enables us to meet the current needs of the European market and, in the future, those of the world market,” says Philippe Cochet, Alstom Wind’s Senior Vice President.
King Gustav of Sweden visits Alstom Wind headquarters in Barcelona
The announcement of the opening of the Vieux Moulin wind farm was made during a recent visit by Sweden’s King Gustaf to the world headquarters of Alstom Wind in Barcelona (Spain).
The King of Sweden visited the headquarters as part of the Royal Technology Mission arranged by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the objective of which is to “look at the factors encouraging many international organisations and companies to locate their operations in Spain”. As well as visiting Alstom Wind’s headquarters, the King also visited the Iberdrola Renovables’ Radona I wind farm and ClimateWell’s new solar-powered air-conditioner factory in Soria.
The world headquarters of Alstom Wind sited in Barcelona’s 22 district employs 350 workers and is described as “the management, sales and technology centre of this division of the company”.
According to Alstom, the installations also have a R&D centre, “from which cutting-edge technology is developed which the company exports worldwide”. One of the latest technologies to come out of this centre is the Ecotècnia wind turbine itself, which is taller than Big Ben.
For additional information:
