Alstom has completed the at sea installation of its new-generation offshore wind turbine, the 6MW Haliade 150, off Ostend harbour at the Belwind site in Belgium.
This wind turbine operates without a gearbox (using direct drive) and has 150 metres rotor with blades stretching 73.50 metres. The first Haliade 150 was commissioned in March 2012 at Le Carnet site in France and obtained in May 2013 the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) power performance measurement (power curve). The 61-metre jacket has been set on top of pillars which have been sunk to a depth exceeding 60 metres. Then the 3 elements of the 78-metre tower were gradually assembled on the jacket. In all, the nacelle towers at a height of over 100 metres above sea level. The overall weight of the turbine and its structure totals 1,500 tonnes. the Carnet wind turbine should be securing its final certification during the first half of 2014. The construction of the two factories in Saint-Nazaire (nacelles and generator) is well underway, and will end around summer 2014. The construction of the two Cherbourg factories (blades and towers) will follow.