GE Renewable Energy has finalized supply and service contracts with Ocean Wind, the Ørsted project located 15 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey.
Ocean Wind will feature GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbine, with an option to utilize the 13 MW variant. The agreements will include a five-year service and warranty agreement to provide operational support for the wind turbines along with the Ørsted operational and maintenance team.
The Haliade-X 13 MW uses the same design as the 12 MW, meaning the size and dimensions of the turbines are identical. However, GE Renewable Energy engineers have optimized the turbine by making some enhancements to the cooling system and related electrical equipment so that it can produce even more power using the same design and size.
“We appreciate the continued confidence that Ørsted has shown in our Haliade-X turbine,” says John Lavelle, president and CEO of offshore wind at GE Renewable Energy. “We are excited to be a part of New Jersey’s inaugural offshore wind project and look forward to a long partnership with both Ørsted and the state. The New Jersey Wind Port will be a great resource for the offshore wind industry, including GE Renewable Energy, to use in maximizing the environmental and economic development benefits that offshore wind can bring to the state and the nation. We look forward to tapping into New Jersey’s qualified workforce to help install and service these turbines in a safe and efficient manner.”
The Haliade-X blade will continue to be tested and optimized at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Wind Technology Testing Center in Boston and at other sites around the country and around the world. In addition, the Haliade-X prototype unit in the Netherlands, which set a world record in January 2020 by being the first wind turbine to produce 288 MWh in one day, will be operating at 13 MW in the coming months as part of its ongoing testing process. The Haliade-X 12 and 13 MW configurations have both received type certificates from DNV-GL, the world’s largest independent certification body, providing independent verification that the new turbines will operate safely, reliably and according to design specifications.
GE Renewable Energy supplied the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Block Island, R.I. The Block Island Wind Farm is operated by Ørsted. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the 15 active commercial leases for offshore wind development have the potential to support approximately 25 GW of offshore wind capacity in the U.S.
