Lowering the cost of energy in relation to offshore wind is essential for the industry. Some of the major stepping stones in achieving this are size and subsequent increased energy capture, which means a need for much bigger turbines that are specifically designed for the challenging offshore environment. Vestas hope to meet this need with its new V164-7.0 MW giant, unveiled last week.
According to Anders Søe-Jensen, President of Vestas Offshore, the offshore wind market is set to really take off over the coming years, but more so in some parts of the world than in others. “We expect the major part of offshore wind development to happen in the Northern part of Europe, where the conditions at sea are particularly rough. Based on our broad true offshore experience and our many years as pioneers within the offshore wind industry, we have specifically designed the V164-7.0 MW to provide the highest energy capture and the highest reliability in this rough and challenging environment. This makes our new turbine an obvious and ideal choice for instance for many UK Round 3 projects.”
Based on the potential market size, the V164-7.0 MW business case is based on Europe and primarily the Northern European markets. Should market demand require so, Vestas is however also prepared to take the V164-7.0 MW to other parts of the world in due time.
As part of the run-up to mass production of the V164-7.0 MW, Vestas has signed a letter of intent with wind farm developer Dong Energy which will perform a design review of the new turbine.
It is also the intention that one or more V164-7.0 MW turbines could be installed at one of Dong Energy’s test sites for research and demonstration purposes and as such will allow Dong Energy to potentially be one of the very first customers to acquire this next generation turbine for a future commercial offshore project.
It is still unclear whether or not Vestas will develop the previously announced 6-MW machine or if it just did not know the final power rating of the new V164 turbine in February. According to one observer, the latter scenario could indicate the early stage at which development of this new machine is at. Whatever the case, Vestas reveals that construction of the first V164-7.0 MW prototypes is expected towards the end of 2012. Serial production is set to begin at the start of 2015, provided a firm order backlog is in place to justify “the substantial investment” needed to pave the way for the new machine.
Top German employer for 2011
In other news, Vestas Deutschland GmbH has been awarded the titles “Top German Employer 2011” and “Top Employer Engineers 2011” by international research company CRF Institute for its state-of-the-art human resources management.
“To once again be awarded, Top Employer is of high relevance to us, especially in times of skills shortage. The awareness level of Vestas is continuously rising amongst students and graduates,” said Marie-Louise Bornemann, Vice President People & Culture for Vestas Central Europe. “Not least, this is due to our employees, who contributed to our success by supporting and promoting a positive work atmosphere. “
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