The end of the assembly process triggers the start of the phase of certifying the new turbine, slated for completion during the last quarter of this year. (Type certification endorses the platform’s industrialisation and marketing.)

The task of assembling the G128-5.0 MW was facilitated by the use of the latest turbine design and manufacturing technology, having overcome the logistics challenge implied by having to ship the parts from the various places in Spain, where they were made: the nacelle and hub from Tauste, Zaragoza; the powertrain from Lerma, Burgos; the generator from Reinosa, Cantabria; and the converters from Coslada, Madrid.

The plan is to install these turbines for the first time in a commercial wind farm in Salo, Finland, where Gamesa will supply three units of the G128-5.0 MW low-temperature model to TuuliWatti this year. Gamesa will also operate and maintain this facility for 10 years.

The G128-5.0 MW wind turbine prototype has a rotor diameter of 128m and a total height of 184m. The turbine is notably lightweight, which reduces the cost of related wind farm civil engineering work. Its modular and redundant design ensures reliability and maximises energy output, thereby lowering the cost of energy while complying with the most stringent grid-connection codes and environmental standards.

A single G128-5.0 MW turbine will generate enough power in one year to supply some 5,000 households. Comparatively, two turbines will be sufficient to power a town of the size of Tudela.