Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has unveiled two 5.8MW turbines as it shifts its product range up with a new 5.X platform, which it says could conquer a 30-35% share or new orders in coming years.
"Today we are celebrating our second anniversary. I cannot imagine a better way to do it than by announcing the launch of this new platform - tangible proof of Siemens Gamesa's commitment to innovation and R&D," chief executive Markus Tacke said at the launch at the WindEurope fair in Bilbao.
The 5.8-170 machine comes with a 170-metre rotor that the company said is the largest in the onshore sector.
The model gives a 32% increase in annual energy production (AEP) (at a wind speed of 8 metres per second), it said, when compared to manufacturer's SG 4.5-145 predecessor model.
The new platform also includes the SG 5.8-155 with a 155-metre rotor, which the German-Spanish OEM says boosts AEP by over 20% (at a wind speed of 7m/s) when compared to the SG 4.5-145 model.
The new platform comes after rivals such as GE, Enercon, Vestas or Nordex all have also presented turbines in the 5MW class amid a race in the industry to push down the cost of wind energy.
Onshore wind chief executive Mark Albenze stressed that the new platform is the first "truly integrated Siemens Gamesa product" as it draws on proven technology from two legacy companies - Siemens and Gamesa - and expertise from various regions.
"It provides a maximum performance in all three different wind speeds - high, medium and low," Albenze said. "We have designed to meet the global market demands in all the different regions in which we operate."
The new platform has a flexible power rating, he added.
"We expect to build upon this modular design as we progress in the future."
Albenze added that the company has already presented the new turbines to clients and it "looks like we have a preferred supplier agreement for a first project" in Northern Europe.
"We have already seen market acceptance with a group of customers that we have been working with."
After discussions with customers, Albenze said he personally expects the 5MW class could take a 30-35% market share measured in order entry in the 2021-23 period.
Ever larger turbines, and the long blades that come with them are, however, increasingly leading to transport bottlenecks. That has been a problem in the past for German OEM Enercon, which took its 7.5MW onshore machine from the market after it had not been selling very well.
To make transport easier, Siemens Gamesa for the SG 5.8-170 in the future is prepared to offer two design options - a single blade and a split-blade version - onshore technology director Jose Antonio Malumbres said.
The company plans to install a first prototype of the SG 5.8-155 in mid-2020, with production scheduled to start in the last quarter of next year.
For the SG 5.8-170, a first prototype is planned for the third quarter of 2020, with production planned to begin in early 2021.
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