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Alt 18-06-2011, 08:14   #99
Purzelinho
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Technischer Vorteil gegenüber Vestas

http://www.powergenworldwide.com/ind...438039132.html

Wind power - Nordex unveils 6 MW unit for offshore wind.


Modern Power System
June 15, 2011

Thomas Richterich, CEO of Nordex SE, notes that the consensus two or three years ago suggested that a boom in offshore wind was imminent. However Nordex took a different view - that the lack of government regulation and 'underdeveloped' financing structures meant that it was an adventurer's market. Now, though, the company feels that by 2014-2015 the market will enter a new phase of maturity. 'For this (market), we are following the trend towards third-generation wind turbines, which are characterised by a substantially greater nominal output and lower specific weights. Only in this way is it possible for a large market of sufficient relevance to emerge in the medium term,' says Richterich. This view is supported by the European Wind Energy Agency whose forecasts suggest that the offshore market will enter its first phase of maturity from 2015 onwards with annual sales volumes of more than 5 GW.

Characteristics

The N150/6000 is described by Nordex as an 'efficiency class' turbine because of its combination of a lightweight top-head mass (300 tonnes) and a 6 MW class rotor, 150m in diameter and with a swept area of 17 671 m2. The weight of the tower head has been kept low by the use of what its makers call 'a new kind of direct drive'. This impacts not only the costs but also the loads to which the entire system is exposed.

Prototype

The new turbine will undergo prototype testing during the next two years, with the first unit to be installed offshore at the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm in the German Baltic in 2014. Up to 70 will then be deployed at the development in 2015, says Nordex, which has a 40% stake in Arcadis Ost 1. The finished wind farm will be an important reference for Nordex which has participated in Arcadis Ost to expedite market access.

Direct drive

Nordex has chosen the direct drive route, for maximum reliability. The company therefore takes the opposite view to that of Vestas, which has opted for a geared drive for the same reason. The Nordex view is that failures in a direct-drive system's electrical components may happen more often but that repairing heavyweight mechanical components causes more lost days overall, especially in the case of a gearbox breakdown which most often involves bringing out a jack-up vessel.

'Our point of view is that with the direct-drive you have mechanically fewer components, which means fewer components to fail,' says Thomas Karst, chief executive of the newly-formed Nordex Offshore GmbH. 'If you look at the statistics, the gearbox still represents a large proportion of the problems that arise.'

'Out at sea in particular, we must do everything we can to optimise the technical reliability of the turbine. With cost structures differing to those in the onshore market, we are able to implement a more complex drive system, namely a direct drive,' says Thomas Richterich. To partner the direct drive train Nordex has opted for a permanent magnet generator coupled with a full power converter, the whole designed to harness wind speeds of around 10 m/s, and substantially lighter than formerly used. Nordex is engineering this drive design in conjunction with experienced suppliers and is therefore placing its reliance in proven technology.

Nordex has not yet settled on any maker for the PMG for the new machine, but says it is currently working with various suppliers to deliver the entire generator-converter system as it further develops the turbine design. Only system suppliers able to deliver the entire generator/converter system and who are already market leaders in this area, says Nordex, are being considered.


Maintenance

The new machine will have a modular design so that assembly and servicing at sea will be possible with the systems already available today. The aim is to make it possible to replace components simply and quickly without dismantling the rotor. A condition monitoring system will help to facilitate pre-emptive maintenance of the critical parts. In addition, the N150/6000 will be able to incorporate a helicopter platform.

Anti-icing feature

In May this year Nordex won the largest order awarded to date for an onshore wind project in Sweden. As of summer 2012 it will be building Blaiken, a 150 MW wind farm. The customers are Skelleftei Kraft, and Fortum, which have placed a firm order for 60xN100/2500 turbines for the site, which represents an acceleration of the master agreement entered into last year. This will be Nordex's first reference project with Fortum.

The N100/2500 machines will be fitted with Nordex' new anti-icing system for rotor blades. The successful development of this system, which can prevent substantial production losses, was a key criterion for the order. An integrated heating system prevents icing, thereby maximising the yield.

In the autumn of 2010 Nordex installed the first N100/2500 turbines with anti-icing at Jokkmokksliden, the forerunner project to Blaiken. It tested and optimised the system using three prototypes and one reference machine. Fortum subsequently decided that the cost-benefit ratio made it worthwhile to have all the turbines equipped with the new system.

New onshore unit to be made in USA

A new (debuted in April) Nordex USA turbine designated N117/2400 and designed for light wind conditions will be made in the USA. It will be added to the company's 'Gamma' class of turbines and is claimed to outperform other turbines by up to 20%, and to be the highest yielding IEC 3 turbine in its class. Production is to start in July 2012 at the company's new Arkansas plant, opened in October.

'The N117 will help increase America's total wind potential by turning many light wind sites into viable power producing locations,' said Ralf Sigrist, president and CEO of Nordex USA.'

With a nominal output of 2.4 MW, a rotor diameter of 117m and a rotor sweep of 10 751 m2, the N117 is, says Nordex, the highest-yielding IEC 3 turbine in its class. At a typical site it will achieve a capacity of over 3500 full-load hours, outperforming other turbines in this category by up to 20%. This translates into a capacity factor of 40%.

The acoustic power level is limited to a maximum of 105 decibels, allowing the turbine to be used closer to residential areas and facilitating optimal turbine layout at wind farms. Its hub height on a standard tower of 91m remains below the FAA threshold of 500 feet.

Nordex has achieved its increases in turbine yield through its two new efficiency packages. The first package optimises the interaction of the core components, boosting the yield by more than 2%. The second package, which increases the yield by another 2.6%, adds the Nordex Advanced Power (AP) module to the Nordex Control operation management system. Nordex AP measures air density in addition to wind speed and direction. Using this third parameter the management system adjusts the generator to optimal effect, producing greater yields at light and moderate wind speeds. The system is available for all turbines delivered from mid 2011.
Copyright 2011 Wilmington Publishing LimitedAll Rights Reserved
Modern Power System

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