Vestas has beefed up its 4MW turbine platform for ‘extreme climate’ sites in Asia.

The Danish OEM’s new-variant V136-4.2MW, being launched this week in Tokyo at the Japan Wind Expo, is designed for the low- to medium-speed wind regimes at both on- and offshore locations where “weather conditions have previously [made wind resources] challenging to exploit”.

The variant is also suitable for similar conditions elsewhere, in markets such as the Caribbean and the UK, said Vestas.

Featuring design optimisations including reinforced blades and a strengthened hub, the extreme climate 4MW platform will be able to cope with wind velocities of 53 metres per second (m/s) and gusts of up to 74-78m/s.

The turbine is also engineered to withstand high-intensity lightning strikes during typhoons, such as those commonly seen off Asia.

Vestas also noted the new design would be “highly suitable” for countries with low grid capacity due to an in-built full-scale converter “that offers advanced active and reactive power capabilities”.

“With the introduction of V136-4.2MW Extreme Climate, Vestas is connecting our proven technology with customised solutions to help customers unlock low to medium wind sites with high turbulence,” said Vestas’ VP of product strategy, Thomas Korzeniewski.

“The larger rotor delivers improved energy production, with the strength and versatility necessary to handle extreme wind gusts and high turbulence.”

The turbine will be sold with site- and project-specific solutions such as large diameter steel towers and Vestas’ Cold Climate Solutions and High Wind Operation package.

Serial production of the V136-4.2MW Extreme Climate turbine is slated for mid-2021 with first deliveries “later that year”.

The 4MW platform, first launched in 2010, has seen recent orders in China, Canada and Brazil.

Vestas in January unveiled its "next generation" modular EnVentus platform, which will underpin its future turbine development plans and gradually supersede its 4MW and 2MW platforms.