The new unit significantly expands GE’s wind portfolio in the wake of its recent acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses. The new business expands GE’s global wind footprint to more than 30,000 turbines worldwide and significantly increases its presence in regions like Europe and Latin America.
In addition, GE Renewable Energy is welcoming a new offshore wind unit into the portfolio. Featuring new Haliade turbine technology, the offshore business has built a significant backlog of orders with EDF in France and has been selected for the Merkur offshore project in Germany. The Haliade technology will also be featured in the Block Island project, which is set to become the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Construction is underway, and the project will begin operation next year.
GE Renewable Energy has also unveiled its new family of 3MW wind turbines. Joining GE’s recently launched 3.2-130, the company introduces two new models; the 3.4-130 and 3.4-137. The new platform is built on the performance of GE’s 2.5 and 2.75MW machines, and in addition to larger rotor diameters, the new models offer improved load management systems, enhanced control features and more efficient drive-train technology. In addition, the new 3MW platform features the modular hardware and software analytics capabilities of GE’s Digital Wind Farm. The hardware platform uses the same machine head throughout all configurations, but offers flexible rotor diameters of 130 or 137 meters, multiple generator ratings of 3.2-3.4MW and five possible tower height combinations ranging from 85-155 meters. GE’s modular 3 MW turbine platform is configurable to meet IEC class 3A, 2B and 3B wind conditions.