The Haliade-X nacelle arrives at Blyth, Northumberland. Credit: Offshore Renewable Energy.             

GE Renewable Energy has announced that a nacelle of its Haliade-X 12MW offshore wind turbine has arrived in the UK for advanced testing.

It will be tested at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s testing facility in Blyth, Northumberland.

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The nacelle will be tested in an indoor environment, which will replicate real-world operational conditions. The Haliade-X has been named as the preferred turbine for offshore windfarms in the US and UK.

GE Offshore Wind business president and CEO John Lavelle said: “GE’s Haliade-X technology will have an important role to play in helping the UK to achieve its Offshore Wind Sector Deal goals of 30GW by 2030, and UK Government’s ambition to work for greenhouse emission reduction to ‘net-zero’ by 2050.

“Our Haliade-X global testing programme will allow us to put different components under controlled and extreme conditions in a faster way, to adapt our technology in a shortened time while introducing new features to meet customers’ demands, and reduce the validation time before starting serial production in 2021.”

It will be GE’s second Haliade-X nacelle that will be assembled at the ORE facility, with the first nacelle already being installed at Rotterdam, which produced its first power in November 2019.

GE Renewable Energy is investing nearly £15m for testing, research and development activities for the Haliade-X in the UK.

Additionally, GE and ORE Catapult are developing a ‘Stay Ashore!’ programme to reduce the time people spend at sea by creating new technology in robotics, digital and remote operations.

ORE Catapult CEO Andrew Jamieson said: “Once again, the North East is playing a significant role in the UK offshore wind success story by welcoming another key component of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine to date, following the arrival of the turbine’s 107m blade for testing earlier this year.

“Our objective is to subject the turbine nacelle to an extremely rigorous testing program designed to make sure it can withstand years of operation at sea.

“Testing these world-leading technologies in the UK cements our position as a global leader in offshore wind and presents unparalleled opportunities for the UK supply chain to develop new products and services, creating jobs and generating economic benefit.”