Siemens today said the 7-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine has passed final type certification and will start commercial production in 2017.
Field testing of the SWT-7.0-154 was recently extended with a second prototype. Grid performance, quality and safety are currently being tested on both machines, said Siemens.
Since many of the technological components in this new turbine are the same as those of Siemens SWT-6.0-154 – including the 154-meter rotor – serial production is scheduled to begin in autumn 2017.
While the first prototype, installed in summer 2015, was initially used for achieving the final type certificate, engineers are now able to use both prototypes for accelerated testing of all grid-related aspects such as performance, quality and safety.
As the upgrades in the turbine consist mainly of changes to the permanent magnet generator, the power converter and medium voltage transformer, the startup of both SWT-7.0-154 prototypes ran smoothly, said Siemens.
The upgraded Siemens Integrated Control System (SICS) with enhanced power converter provides even more flexibility in the turbine response to voltage and frequency, while enabling compliance with the strictest international grid code requirements.
“The development of our SWT-7.0-154 has reached the final stage and we are well on track,” said Morten Rasmussen, head of Technology at Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division.
First orders are already in place for the new project including the Walney Extension East project in the UK to be installed in early 2018. Over 1,100 of the gearless Siemens wind turbines have been installed since 2010, and more than 60 of them are in operation offshore.