Siemens Energy
recently launched its
new 6-mw direct drive
wind turbine at the
European Offshore Wind
Energy Conference in
Amsterdam, The
Netherlands. The new
SWT-6.0 will be available
with rotor diameters of
120m and 154m and is
designed for the most
challenging offshore sites.
It features the Siemens
direct drive design with 50
per cent fewer parts than
comparable geared wind
turbines. With a towerhead
mass of roughly 350
tonnes, the SWT-6.0 is the
lightest machine in its
class. This unique
combination of robustness
and low weight
significantly reduces
infrastructure, installation
and service costs, and
boosts lifetime energy
output and profitability, a
release from Siemens said.
Siemens pioneered the
industry when it installed
the world's first offshore
wind power plant in1991.
Since then, Siemens has
successfully installed more
than 700 offshore wind
turbines with a combined
capacity of more than
2,000 mw in European
waters. In offshore wind
power alone, Siemens has
an order backlog of more
than 1,100 offshore wind
turbines with a total
capacity of more than
4,000 mw, the official
statement noted.
The new Siemens 6-mw
wind turbine is purpose built
to endure the harshest
conditions offshore. This
direct drive wind turbine is
offered with two different
rotor blades. The SWT-6.0-
154 features the largest
rotor blade in the 6-MW
class, using the new B75
Quantum Blade. This 75m
long blade delivers
enormous strength at low
weight, and thanks to its
unique airfoils the B75
Quantum Blade offers
superior performance at a
wide range of wind speeds.
The first prototype of the
Siemens 6-mw turbine was
installed in May, 2011 at
Høvsøre, Denmark.