Gamesa reveals new 3.3 MW turbine designed for medium wind speeds

Spanish turbine manufacturer Gamesa has revealed its newest wind turbine, a 3.3 MW model designed for medium wind speed sites. The global wind industry is fast becoming one of the most entrenched and reliable methods of new electricity generation, but not every location is made the same. Potential wind farm locales do not always experience the same wind conditions as others, even within relative close proximity to one another.

Entire regions — such as India, for example — have comparatively lower wind speeds than others.

This discrepancy between locations means that one wind turbine isn’t always the right turbine for every potential wind farm. As a result, wind turbine manufacturers have placed a lot of emphasis on researching and developing wind turbines that are designed for specific wind-type locations — low, medium, high, etc.

Following in this path, one of the world’s largest and most experienced wind turbine manufacturers, Gamesa, based out of Spain, this week revealed its newest 3.3 MW wind turbine designed specifically for medium wind speed locations. The first G132-3.3 MW wind turbine prototype is expected to be installed in mid-2016, with serial production expected in the first quarter of 2017. The turbine is based on technology that has been proven in Gamesa’s existing 2.0 MW and 2.5 MW platforms, and includes a new turbine blade made from fiberglass and stretching 64.5 meters which “features a new family of aerodynamic edges which increase annual output while minimising noise emissions.”

The turbine will be available in four different tower heights ranging from 84 meters to 134 meters, and is expected to be able to deliver 50% and 30% more energy than Gamesa’s G114-2.0 MW and G114-2.5 MW turbines respectively. “This new product is the only turbine in the market designed for medium wind speeds which combines a 132 metre rotor with nominal unit capacity of 3.3 MW,” said José Antonio Malumbres, Gamesa’s Chief Technology Officer. “This guarantees an optimal capacity factor and, by extension, maximising output. A team of 50 engineers located all over the world is working on the development of this new turbine which will absorb over 150,000 engineering hours and 86 technological innovations patented by Gamesa.”

Gamesa is one of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers and has seen almost continual growth over the last few years due to both the increasing global demand for wind power and the company’s own ability to maximize those opportunities. 

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/11/19/gamesa-reveals-new-3-3-mw-turbine-designed-medium-wind-speeds/