Northern de-light as Germany's Nordex bags Arctic Circle wind turbine order

Nordex further increased its order tally in the booming Finnish wind power market, with an order by developer Wpd for a 97MW site north of the Arctic Circle.

The manufacturer will supply 17 of its N163/5.X turbines from the Delta4000 series in a 5.7MW operating mode. The machines for the Nuolivaara project near Kemijärvi and Salla in northern Finland will be delivered as a cold-climate version and can be operated at temperatures down to -30° Celsius.

Rotor blades will be equipped with an advanced anti-acing system that prevents blades from icing before ice starts to form, reducing power losses as turbines can be operated continuously.

"Depending on the climate conditions, for years we equip every second wind farm of our customers in the Nordic countries with the cold-climate version and our anti-icing system," Nordex chief operating officer Patxi Landa said.

"We are convinced that the highly efficient N163/5.X will also be able to generate constant high yields throughout the year at this demanding northern location."

Installation of the Nuolivaara wind farm is due to be completed next year. Wpd will install the turbines on tubular steel towers with a hub height of 159 metres. This tower variant is also being used in the first joint Finnish project by Wpd and Nordex with N163/5.X machines, the 188MW Karhunnevankangas wind project.

“The Nuolivaara project represents an important further step for Wpd in the growth market of Finland. We are glad that with Nordex we have a manufacturer at our side with whom we can meet the specific climatic conditions in Northern Finland,” said Heikki Peltomaa, managing director of Wpd Finland.