Two major events in both offshore and onshore wind occurred in 2019; both have enormous (some would say HUUUGE) implications for renewable energy worldwide. The first event is the installation of the largest-ever offshore wind turbine generator (WTG), the GE-built Haliade 12X in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Yes, it is an onshore installation, not offshore, but that is for ease of access during testing and verification purposes. The 12X has a nominal output of 12 MW, and a claimed annual capacity factor of 63 percent. The economics of the 12 MW WTG are very favorable; such that a sales price of 5 cents US per kWh allows a nice return on the investment. A major wind project offshore in EU has announced they will use the 12 MW turbines. see link for details of the GE Haliade 12X.
Meanwhile, GE has done it again. This time in the onshore industry, where a major limit to increased size and better economics for WTG has been the inability to transport longer blades from manufacturer to the wind turbine site. The US Department of Energy recently sent out a call for ideas to solve the transportation problem. GE has since (March, 2019) announced their 5 MW WTG, the Cypress model, that has blades fabricated in two parts for ease of shipping. At the site, the two parts are joined for installation and operation. This also is huge for onshore WTG, since the almost double output brings down the sales price of electricity. Adequate returns are provided at present with 4.3 cents per kWh from the 2.5-3 MW size WTG. The 5 MW Cypress WTG will allow an adequate return at something below the 4.3 cents, most likely in the 2.5-3 cents per kWh range. see link for details of the Cypress 5 MW.
We can expect that many older WTG projects with 1 MW size and smaller will soon upgrade to the 5 MW WTG. The repowering projects have excellent economics because the infrastructure is mostly in place. Bigger turbines reach up higher into better wind, and provide a greater annual capacity.
As I have said often before, wind has won.
Roger E. Sowell, Esq.
Houston, Texas
copyright (c) 2019 by Roger Sowell - all rights reserved
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