Featuring
flexible
66-metre,
23.5-tonne
glass-reinforced
plastic
blades,
the
new
5MW
offshore
turbine
—
being
marketed
as
the
M5000-135
—
will
have
a
rotor
diameter
19
metres
wider
than
the
current
production
model,
with
a
swept
area
of
14,326
square
metres.
That
is
almost
4,000
square
metres
more
than
the
116.
The
aim
in
developing
the
larger
M5000,
which
will
have
a
365-tonne
top-head,
has
been
to
“increase
power
production
without
jeopardising
track
record”,
says
Areva
Wind
research
and
development
director
René
Balle.
“The
116
has,
since
2004,
been
recognised
as
a
monster
platform…
