GE Renewable Energy has installed its first Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine in Germany at the 396MW Merkur Offshore Windfarm, located 35km north of Borkum Island in the North Sea.
Under the deal, GE has started to ship blades, towers, nacelles and other components required to commence installation of the first set of offshore wind turbines from Merkur’s logistics hub in Eemshaven, Netherlands.
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In June 2015, Merkur contracted GE Renewable Energy to supply its 66 GE Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbines.
GE plans to ship the remaining nacelles, blades and tower pieces to Eemshaven logistics hub later this year, where local teams will perform pre-assembly works.
The renewable energy company will be installing the wind turbines by September, and the commissioning of these turbines is expected to continue until the end of this year.
GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind business vice-president and CEO John Lavelle said: “This is a very important milestone for us. Only a year and a half ago we were supporting the installation of the first offshore wind project in the US (Block Island), and in a year we have completed installation in China and started installation of one of the largest offshore windfarms in Germany, making us the only offshore wind turbine supplier to have projects in Europe, Asia and the Americas.”
Upon completion, Merkur Offshore Windfarm will become one of the largest offshore windfarms in Germany with an ability to generate nearly 1,750MWh of energy annually, enough to supply clean energy to power around 500,000 homes in the region.
Additionally, GE will be providing operations and maintenance services at the site for a period of ten years.
The offshore wind turbines are produced in three different locations and shipped to Eemshaven logistics hub.
The nacelles are produced in Saint-Nazaire (France). The blades are made by LM Wind Power in Castellon (Spain), while the towers are manufactured in Germany and China.
