Spanish wind power solutions provider Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is building what it claims is the world’s largest wind blade testing rig. The Siemens wind blade testing rig is to be located at its facilities in northern Denmark.
The new facility will be capable of performing full-scale tests on the next generations of Siemens Gamesa rotor blades and is expected to be fully operational before the end of the year, the company said.
The investment in testing will generate more savings for wind turbine clients of Siemens Gamesa. Siemens Gamesa, the second largest wind turbine maker, will also gain from significant reduction in technical issues. It can also deliver more innovative and reliable wind turbines.
“The first tests will be on the 94 meter-long blades for the SG 10.0-193 DD offshore wind turbine, which are almost the same length as one soccer field. We are however building the test stand to accommodate the blade sizes that we will see in the future”, said Vicente García Muñoz, Head of Validation Means Management at SGRE.
The gigantic Siemens wind blade testing structure in Aalborg will have more steel rebar reinforcement per square meter than a wind turbine foundation, so that it has the capability to accelerate the test and prove full reliability over the lifetime of the blade in the shortest possible time, while full respecting IEC regulations.
Meanwhile, Siemens Gamesa also announced that the launch of the 376 MW Formosa 2 offshore wind farm project in Taiwan took a step closer to construction following the firm order from partners Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Swancor Renewable Energy.
The project, located in Miaoli county, will consist of 47 units of the SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbine and construction is expected to begin in 2020. The park is situated close to the site of the first commercial offshore wind power plant in Taiwan, Formosa 1, which consists of a total of 22 SGRE offshore wind turbines with Phase 1 and Phase 2 combined.
“We are pleased to announce a positive investment decision and that we are now ready to commence construction of the Formosa 2 offshore wind farm,” says Kimberly Cram, Project Director of Formosa 2. “Once completed the Formosa 2 offshore wind farm will generate enough green electricity to power 380,000 homes. The project represents a significant contribution to Taiwan’s renewable energy targets and we look forward to working closely with our local and international partners to ensure its successful completion.”
The firm order for the Formosa 2 project takes SGRE’s order backlog in Taiwan to close to 2 GW. This latest wind park will be one of the first projects of the Taiwanese government’s zonal development program. This initiative was launched to promote a 5.5 GW offshore wind build-out by 2025.
Source: Siemens Gamesa Press Service
