German wind turbine manufacturer has installed the first prototype of its E-138 EP3 E2 turbine in northern Germany.

Despite difficult conditions brought about by the coronavirus crisis, installation at the Janneby site in Schleswig-Holstein state ran smoothly the past few days, the OEM said.

The E2’s nominal power is increased from 3.5 to 4.2MW compared to the predecessor model, the E-138 EP3 E1. Company developers anticipate an additional yield of approximately 1.5 million kilowatt hours per year through the upgrade, representing a 10% increase.

The E2 is expected to generate around 16.01 million kWh per year at sites with a mean wind speed of 7.5 m/s at hub height.

The model also features a “plug-and-play” enabled rotor head that is fully assembled and tested at the factory and then shipped as one delivery unit to the construction site. When the turbine is installed, the rotor head can be hoisted by the crane without requiring any turning operations or complex additional equipment, Enercon said.

The company also said a new installation method can be used for rotor blades without the use of a ballast arm. Instead, the machine’s rotor head is turned using just the installation crane, thus saving time at the construction site.