By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The prototype has been installed at Høvsøre in Denmark. The offshore wind turbine’s nacelle and rotor weigh under 350 tonnes, something that could cut the cost not only of the nacelle, but also the tower and supporting structures, Siemens says.

“In tendency large wind turbines have always been heavier per megawatt than small ones. The SWT-6.0-120 breaks this rule, having a weight per megawatt similar to that of many turbines in the 2 to 3 MW range,” says Henrik Stiesdal, Chief Technology Officer at Siemens Wind Turbine Business Unit.

“Reaching this low weight with a strong and robust machine is the result of targeted innovation combined with our more than 30 years of wind industry experience.”

He adds: “We’ve developed the SWT-6.0-120 wind turbine specifically for the offshore projects of the future. Our direct drive technology offers a smart, straightforward design that minimises the number of moving parts in the wind turbine. We expect that our new SWT-6.0-120 will set new standards for performance, robustness and optimised maintenance concepts, which are major advantages in the harsh conditions offshore.”

The wind turbine uses the B58 blade used on the SWT-3.6-120 and includes Siemens’ IntegralBlade® design for wind turbine blades manufactured without glue joins.

The nacelle also features a helicopter hoisting platform integrated in the nacelle rear.

Serial production of the 6 MW offshore wind turbine is scheduled for 2014.