Wind energy Market overview of wind turbines – diversity is increasing

The continuing worldwide demand for turbines of 600 kW and above is attract- ing new suppliers onto the market, who are looking for niches with their individu- al concepts. The market leaders are con- tinuing to concentrate on selling as many of their standard turbines as possible and on lowering costs.

he large companies are expanding their activi- ties around the world, but cannot cover the de- mand on their own. Numerous niches are crop- ping up that are providing small specialised manufacturers and newcomers foundations for Ttheir existence. The world market is becoming more and more diverse and the field for small suppliers, look- ing for opportunities in the slipstream of the large play- ers, is suitably chequered.

Business as usual

For the market leaders the time for experimenting is over for the time being. They want to earn money for as long as possible with the turbine class that is currently dominating the market (2 to 2.5 MW). »We don’t need a completely new ,« explained technology 33 turbines of the type head Matthias Schubert from the German company 77-1500-D Repower recently at the European Wind Energy Confer- make up the »Olympia« wind ence (EWEC) in Brussels (see page 196). In 2020 the farm on Guan Ting Lake in power class of 2 to 2.5 MW will still be dominant, and Hebei province, China. most manufacturers will also not want to do away with The Chinese company the transmission, predicted Schubert. The research and Goldwind has recently development departments at the large taken up 70 % of the companies are currently primarily looking at opportu- shares in the German nities for cutting costs and increasing reliability. It is company Vensys Energy AG. thus more »business as usual« than experimentation Photos (2): Jan Oelker which is holding sway.

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Opportunities for small manufacturers

It is mainly the newcomers who are responsible for the increasing diversity in what is on offer, as they must rise above the masses with their own individual designs. Because customers are queuing up at manufacturers, prices are relatively high, and this provides room for ex- perimentation. On the other hand, the smaller provid- ers cannot afford to take too big a risk, as a setback would sweep them from the marketplace. None of the numerous newcomers has failed for quite a time, though. Bard: The German company Bard Engineering is not really among the small manufacturers if one looks at their plans, as the investor Arngolt Bekker, who wants to put up a 400 MW in the North Sea, is bac- king the company. The Emden-based North German company has, however, so far only installed two tur­ bines. The Bard VM is the fifth turbine of the 5 MW class to be realised, after the E-112 and E-126, the Repower 5M and the Multibrid M5000. Clipper: The U.S. company Clipper Windpower sup- plies a 2.5 MW wind turbine with an unusual design. The four-way split transmission of the Liberty wind tur- bine drives four permanent magnet generators. The concept of using several generators per transmission has already been tried a few times, but has not yet caught on in Europe (both the Nedwind 1000 and the Nordtank 1500 have only sold in low numbers). Now comes a new attempt, this time in the USA. Sales of the Liberty turbine were initially slow to get started. Clipper managed only around 20 turbines last year, but demand­ installed in Sweetwater (Texas). A successful testing Heavyweight newcomer: is high and several projects are currently being imple- of this turbine will be required to turn the many pre- Bard Engineering from mented in the USA. BP Alternative Energy recently or- orders into firm contracts. Germany already put up its dered 120 turbines and »6,500 MW are in the portfolio«, Eno: The German company Eno Energy has been the second prototype in Emden, said Clipper just a short time ago. There is certainly lots general contractor and project financier for wind farms Northern Germany, at the of optimism. In October 2007 Clipper announced the since 1999. In order to be able not just to plan these end of 2007. It didn’t join the development of a 7.5 MW turbine for offshore use. The wind farms but also to put up their own wind turbines grid until the new year, manufacturers of this ambitious project will not be there, the board charged the German consultancy RSB however. working in the USA, however, but in Blyth, in northern with developing a wind turbine. This unconventional England. The British Government is supporting the step was taken with the aim of »securing the margin plans to the tune of £ 5 million (€ 6.2 million). that the production of your own wind turbine offers«. Conergy: In Bremerhaven, North Germany, where The client didn‘t take any large risks in the development Multibrid and Repower manufacture their 5 MW tur­ of the Eno 82. The new development is based on a tried bines, the German company Conergy has recently and tested concept: a variable speed, pitch controlled started ­ manufacturing a 900 kW universal function wind turbine with a doubly fed asynchronous genera- turbine which can also be used at remote sites and aims tor. The prototype has been running since the end of to take over niche markets. This year 100 Powerwind 56 March. type wind turbines are due to leave the factory. Multibrid: The sole product of the German compa- Business activities at Conergy Wind GmbH have been ny based in Bremerhaven is the well-known 5 MW tur- overshadowed by turbulence in the Conergy Group as bine, developed mainly for offshore use. But after the a whole, however, which wants to move away from erection of the prototype at the end of 2004 it took turbine manufacture as quickly as possible. quite a while for the first orders to come in. One year Dewind: The former German company now belongs later, 21 turbines were ordered for the French offshore to the Californian Composite Technology Corporation wind farm Côte d‘Albâtre and in mid 2007 six turbines (CTC), which has especially high hopes for the type 8.2 were ordered for the offshore test field Alpha Ventus. turbine. A hydrodynamic torque converter developed With these two orders to support it, Multibrid set up by Voith does away with the need for an inverter. The a production hall in Bremerhaven, in which the six synchronous generator can be connected directly to na­celles for the offshore test field are currently being the grid. The 50 Hz prototype has been running in Cux- produced. That this hall is now also likely to be running haven since January 2007, and the 60 Hz prototype at capacity in future years has come about through a mainly planned in for the US market has recently been buy-in by the French company , though. In

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Type capacity [kW] RD [m] SA [m²] hub [m] SP [W/m²] Installed turbines Acciona AW 70/1500 1,500 70.0 3,855 80 389 7 Acciona AW 77/1500 1,500 77.0 4,616 80 325 575 Bard VM 5,000 122.0 11,69 90 428 1 Clipper Windpower Liberty 2,500 89.0 6,221 80 402 n/a *a Conergy Powerwind 56 900 56.0 2,463 71 365 3 Overview of wind turbines in- Dewind D4 600 48.0 1,809 70 332 271 stalled around the world: Dewind D6/62 1,000 62.0 3,019 65 331 139 Technical data for wind tur- Dewind D6/64 1,250 64.0 3,217 92 389 109 Dewind D8/80 2,000 80.0 5,027 100 398 45 bines of 600 kW and above, Dewind D8.2 2,000 80.0 5,027 100 398 2 with details on rated power, Ecotècnia 62 1,300 62.0 3,019 80 431 13 rotor diameter (RD), swept Ecotècnia 74 1,670 74.0 4,301 80 388 431 Ecotècnia 80/1.6 1,670 80.0 5,027 70 332 187 area (SA), the highest hub Ecotècnia 80/2.0 2,000 80.0 5,027 70 398 1 height, the specific power Ecotècnia 100 3,000 100.0 7,854 90 382 0 (SP in W/m2 rotor area) and Enercon E-44 900 44.0 1,521 55 592 63 Enercon E-48 800 48.0 1,810 76 442 1,321 the number of turbines Enercon E-53 800 53.0 2,198 73 364 291 installed worldwide as of Enercon E-70 2,300 71.0 3,959 113 581 2,034 *b 1st January 2008. Enercon E-82 2,000 82.0 5,281 138 379 399 Enercon E-126 6,000 127.0 12,668 135 474 2 Source: manufacturers’ information Eno 82 1,800 82.5 5,345 101 374 0 *c Fuhrländer FL 600 600 50.0 1,963 75 306 27 Fuhrländer FL 1000 1,000 54.0 2,290 82 437 103 *d Fuhrländer FL 1500 1,500 77.0 4,657 65 322 16 *e Fuhrländer FL MD 70 1,500 70.0 3,846 85 390 40 Fuhrländer FL MD 77 1,500 77.0 4,657 111 322 163 Fuhrländer FL 2500 2,500 90.0 6,362 160 393 1 Fuhrländer FL 2500 2,500 100.0 7,854 160 318 4 Gamesa G52 850 52.0 2,124 74 400 2,996 Gamesa G58 850 58.0 2,642 71 322 2,864 Gamesa G80 2,000 80.0 5,027 100 398 426 Gamesa G83 2,000 83.0 5,411 78 370 301 Gamesa G87 2,000 87.0 5,945 100 336 1,047 Gamesa G90 2,000 90.0 6,362 100 314 479 GE Energy 1.5s/se 1,500 70.5 3,904 100 384 2,313 GE Energy1.5sl/sle 1,500 77.0 4,657 100 322 5,448 GE Energy 1.5xle 1,500 82.5 5,346 100 281 7 GE Energy 2.3 2,300 94.0 6,940 100 331 53 GE Energy 2.5 2,500 88.0 6,082 85 411 29 GE Energy 2.5xl 2,500 100.0 7,854 100 318 2 Goldwind S43/600 kW 600 43.0 1,452 50 413 n/a *f Goldwind S48/750 kW 750 49.0 1,886 60 398 n/a *f Goldwind 62/1200 kW 1,200 62.0 3,019 70 397 n/a *f Goldwind 70/1500 kW 1,500 70.5 3,904 85 384 n/a *f Mitsubishi MWT 57/1.0 1,000 57.0 2,550 69 392 n/a Mitsubishi MWT 62/1.0 1,000 61.4 2,960 69 338 n/a Mitsubishi MWT 92/2.4 2,400 92.0 6,647 100 361 n/a Multibrid M5000 5,000 116.0 10,568 102 473 2 S70 1,500 70.0 3,848 85 *g 390 488 Nordex S77 1,500 77.0 4,657 100 *g 322 161 Nordex N80 2,500 80.0 5,026 80 497 272 Nordex N90 2,300 90.0 6,362 105 362 143 Nordex N90 2,500 90.0 6,362 120 393 1 Nordex N100 2,500 100.0 7,823 100 320 Repower MD77 1,500 77.0 4,657 100 322 485 Repower MM70 2,000 70.0 3,850 80 519 70 Repower MM82 2,000 82.0 5,281 100 379 433 Repower MM92 2,000 92.0 6,720 100 298 90 Repower 5M 5,000 126.0 12,469 120 401 10 Siemens SWT-1.3-62 1,300 62.0 3,019 90 431 1,470 Siemens SWT-2.3-82 2,300 82.4 5,333 100 431 506 *a  Clipper Liberty: also available with 93, Siemens SWT-2.3-82 VS 2,300 82.4 5,333 100 431 54 96 and 99 m RD Siemens SWT-2.3-93 2,300 93.0 6,793 103 339 719 *b  Enercon E-70: installed turbines in- Siemens SWT-3.6-107 3,600 107.0 8,992 100 400 42 cluding E-70/2000 S52-600 kW 600 52.0 2,124 75 282 105 *c  Prototype was erected in March; also Suzlon S64-1.25 MW 1,250 64.0 3,217 74.5 389 543 available with 2,000 kW Suzlon S66-1.25 MW 1,250 66.0 3,421 74.5 365 486 *d  Fuhrländer FL 1000: now further devel- Suzlon S70-1.25 MW 1,250 69.0 3,740 74.5 334 443 oped as the FL 1250 with 1,250 kW Suzlon S82-1.5 MW 1,500 82.0 5,281 77.5 284 7 *e  Fuhrländer FL 1500: including 13 tur- Suzlon S88-2.1 MW 2,100 88.0 6,082 80 345 108 bines with 70 m RD Unison U50 750 50.0 1,964 50 382 1 *h *f  Total power of all installed Goldwind Vensys 62 1,200 62.0 3,019 69 397 12 turbines 1,497 MW Vensys 64 1,200 64.0 3,217 85 373 2 *g  max. hub height for sales; the S70 has Vensys 70 1,500 70.0 3,848 85 390 4 already been installed with 115 m hub Vensys 77 1,500 77.0 4,657 100 322 58 height, the S77 with 112 m V52-850 kW 850 52.0 2,124 86 400 2,323 *h  Unison U50: also available as U54 and Vestas V80-2,0 MW 2,000 80.0 5,027 100 398 2,119 U57 (54/57m RD) Vestas V90-2,0 MW 2,000 90.0 6,362 105 314 876 *i Winwind WWD-1: including turbines Vestas V90-3,0 MW 3,000 90.0 6,362 105 472 593 with 56 and 60 m RD Winwind WWD-1/64 1,000 64.0 3,215 70 311 40 *i *k Winwind WWD-3: including turbines Winwind WWD-3/100 3,000 100.0 7,850 100 382 20 *k with 90 m RD

194 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2008 Small suppliers often rise above the competition with the aid of external design, as this example of a Conergy Powerwind 56 from Germany shows. Photo: Martina Buchholz

October 2007 Areva bought up 51 % of Multibrid shares from Prokon Nord (Germany), and can now throw its financial weight into the ring in order to secure further offshore orders. In January 2008 Areva an­ nounced that 80 Multibrid turbines had been ordered for the Borkum West II wind farm. The client is the Trianel Group, a partnership of com- munity amenities companies. Unison: Putting up large wind farms was how the South Korean company first got involved with the wind power sector. In 2006 Unison announced the development of a 750 kW turbine. It has a water-cooled permanent magnet synchronous generator and has in the meantime Together we can deliver now entered in-series production. great energy performance. Vensys: This small German company was for quite a time the only manufacturer apart from Enercon which was able to supply a transmis- Even without the wind. sionless wind turbine in reasonable numbers. Initially, however, orders were rare. There was no chance of setting up a factory for manufacture by themselves. The few Vensys turbines that were ordered were prima- rily manufactured by CKD in Prag. The turnaround came through licensing agreements (among others with the Chinese manufacturer Goldwind and the Spanish manufacturer Eozen). Goldwind was very successful in marketing the transmissionless turbine in China. Exam­- ples are the Dabancheng wind farm (six turbines) and the erection of 33 turbines in Beijing-Guanting. Lifted up by its stock market floata­tion, Goldwind took up a total of 70 % of the Vensys Energy AG shares on 14th April. The construction of a manufacturing plant is now planned in Wind power installations are as effi cient as the sum Saarbrücken, which is to produce 1.5 MW turbines for the European of their parts. Parker offers you this kind of service. market and later on also turbines with 2.5 MW of rated power. If every­ Innovative products which are strong in performance thing goes well the factory will manufacture around 50 turbines in the and reliable in function. For example, fi ttings with coming year. A prototype of the 2.5 MW turbine is also to be erected Cr(VI)-free surfaces, meaning that for you corrosion this year. Y is no longer a problem. All our products are system- Detlef Koenemann, Stefan Trojek atically matched with one another and are supplied from a single Parker source. This makes design and purchase much simpler. Why not decide on a strong, Further information: experienced partner, working with you at your side? Acciona: www.acciona-energia.com Bard: www.bard-engineering.de Choose Parker products and service! Clipper: www.clipperwind.com Conergy: www.conergy.de Dewind: www.dewind.de Ecotècnia: www.ecotecnia.com Enercon: www.enercon.de Eno: www.eno-wind.de Fuhrländer: www.fuhrlaender.de Gamesa: www.gamesa.de GE Energy: www.gewindenergy.com Goldwind: www.goldwind.cn/en Mitsubishi: www.mhie.com Multibrid: www.multibrid.com Nordex: www.nordex.de Repower: www.repower.de www.parker.com 00800 2727 5374 Siemens: www.siemens.com/powergeneration Suzlon: www.suzlon.com Unison: www.unison.co.kr Vensys: www.vensys.de Vestas: www.vestas.de Winwind: www.winwind.fi

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