“Through this agreement, DONG Energy becomes involved earlier in Vestas´ development of the V164-8.0 MW offshore wind turbine than previously envisaged,” DONG said in a statement. “This ensures DONG Energy a detailed understanding of and experience with Vestas’ new offshore wind turbine at an early stage.”
DONG will now engage in a number of test activities together with Vestas, evaluating the prototype at Test Centre Østerild to accelerate the development of the V164-8.0 MW. “Having DONG Energy so closely involved in the test activities will be valuable for us both”, said Ditlev Engel, CEO of Vestas.
As a result of the agreement, DONG has cancelled its plans to use the turbines at a demonstration project in Frederikshavn, as most of the tests planned by the company at the site will now be carried out by the two companies at Østerild.
In cooperating in the development of the turbine, the hope is the two companies can help bring down the cost of offshore wind, which is becoming a major concern to European governments – and particularly in the huge UK offshore wind market – as they seek to lift the burden of green subsidies from consumers during the economic crisis. Henrik Poulsen, CEO of DONG Energy, said: “We have an ambition to reduce the cost of renewable energy within the foreseeable future, and the V164-8.0 MW turbine could potentially be a solid contributor to that.”
The first 8MW turbine will be installed and commissioned at Østerild during the second quarter of 2014, and if the results are positive further tests and commercial collaboration between the two companies could follow.
French test 6MW offshore wind machine
Meanwhile, Alstom’s next generation Haliade 150 offshore wind turbine is undergoing testing at Le Carnet, France, to measure power performance and power quality. The 6MW turbine is set to be used in three offshore wind projects in France led by EDF, which will see 240 turbines deployed in total.
Alstom offshore wind vice president, Frederic Hendrick, said: “We are particularly satisfied with the excellent Pure Torque results of the generator’s air gap stability, which confirms our decision to develop a turbine with no gearbox.”