GE Renewable Energy has inked a five-year R&D agreement with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to test a range of next-generation technologies centred around the US company’s recently unveiled Haliade-X mega-turbine.

The 12MW machine, the launch of which Recharge revealed exclusively last month, as well as its 6MW stable-mate, the Haliade 150, will be put through an advanced test and demonstration programme at Catapult’s facility in Blyth, northeast England, designed to boost the models’ performance and reliability by mirroring “real-world operational conditions”.

Trials will encompass cooling technologies, converters, loading conditions across mechanical and electrical components, grid testing and design validation, on Catapult’s 15MW test rig. The collaboration with GE is also expected to help develop the burgeoning UK offshore wind supply chain by affording “increased access to demonstration opportunities for innovative small businesses”.

“This collaboration is great news and highlights our world-class research and testing facilities,” said UK Energy & Clean Growth minister Claire Perry.

“Through our industrial strategy, we are making the UK a global leader in renewables, including offshore wind, with more support available than any other country in the world. With 22% of all investment in European wind projects coming to the UK, the offshore wind industry is exceptionally well placed to boost supplies of home grown clean energy whilst growing new jobs and opportunities.”

John Lavelle, chief executive of GE’s offshore wind business unit, said: “This is an important agreement because it will enable us to prove Haliade-X in a faster way by putting it under controlled and extreme conditions.

“Traditional testing methods rely on local wind conditions and therefore have limited repeatability for testing. By using Catapult’s facilities and expertise, we will be in a better position to adapt our technology in a shortened time, reduce unplanned maintenance, increase availability and power output, while introducing new features to meet customers’ demands.”

ORE Catapult chief executive Andrew Jamieson stated: “By working closely together in areas such as power trains, blades and electrical infrastructure, we look forward to helping GE to both enhance their existing portfolio and bring new products and services to the offshore wind market, while simultaneously generating significant economic growth opportunities in the UK.”

Along with the R&D activities, the agreement with GE also includes a £6m ($ 8.5m) investment from technology development body Innovate UK and the European Regional Development Fund to wire the world’s most powerful grid simulation system, being supplied by GE Power’s Grid Emulation arm, into Catapult’s power train test facilities at Blyth.

This technology installation “will enable the partners, UK companies and researchers to better assess the interaction between the next generation of large scale wind turbines and the electrical distribution network in the most challenging environments”, said Jamieson.

Tony Quinn, Catapult’s director of test and validation, told Recharge: “Accelerating the development of the next generation of offshore wind technologies is essential to the UK’s move to a low carbon economy.

“Enhanced testing methods lie at the heart of this development, and this long-term collaboration with GE Renewable Energy confirms [our] place at the heart of the drive for more efficient and cost-effective renewable energy.”

The Haliade-X will fly the world’s longest blades, a 107-metre model from GE-owned LM Wind Power, with each machine capable of churing out 67GWh of power a year, enough electricity for 16,000 European households, with a 750MW wind farm able to supply one million homes.

Wind

GE turns to Catapult for Haliade-X trials