First performance measurements at Enercon’s E-126 EP3 have shown that the power yield at the 3.5MW turbine is higher than expected, the German wind OEM said in the latest edition of its Windblatt in-house magazine.

A current measurement campaign is still ongoing until this autumn at Kirch Mulsow, in the north-eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the manufacturer a year ago had commissioned a first prototype of the machine.

But first results are so unambiguous that Enercon said it has already adapted its ‘cp-curves’ (power coefficient curve to indicate a wind turbine’s efficiency), and lifted its yield forecast by 5%.

The noise of the turbine is also below guaranteed levels, the manufacturer added, without giving exact figures.

Enercon had launched the E-126 EP3 turbine for moderate winds, and the E-138 EP3 for low winds (IEC IIIA wind class) during the 2017 Brazil Windpower show in Rio de Janeiro.

At the launch, the turbine maker had said that annual energy yields of more than 14.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) are forecast for the E-126 EP3 at a typical Wind Class IIA site with wind speeds of 8.0 m/s at a hub height of 135 metres.

A second prototype of the E-126 EP3 on a modular steel tower (MST) was commissioned in July 2019 in Scharndorf, Austria.