POWER March 2017 - 13

5. The sea of giants. Installation of MHI Vestas' 32 V164-8.0-MW
turbines at the 258-MW Burbo Bank Extension off the coast of Liverpool
in the UK wrapped up in December 2016-three months after the
first 8-MW offshore turbine was erected. The project is scheduled for
completion early this year. Courtesy: MHI Vestas
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Big Winds for Big Offshore
Wind Turbines From
Siemens, MHI Vestas
Siemens has installed the prototype of
its towering 8-MW offshore direct-drive
wind turbine at a national test center in
Østerild, Denmark, marking the company's
foray into the global race to develop
mega-wind turbines.
The new offshore turbine was installed
on a steel tower at a hub height of 120
meters (m) in late January (Figure 4). The
final type certificate is expected in 2018.
The prototype is based on Siemens' 7-MW
model, which already has first orders to
be installed in early 2018 in the Walney
Extension East project in the UK.
According to the Global Wind Energy
Association (GWEA), relatively higher
costs and installation complexity compared
to onshore wind have posed barriers
for widespread offshore wind development.
Turbine makers are working to reduce
costs by deploying larger turbines to
increase energy capture, along with keeping
volumes up and tackling supply-chain
challenges. While GWEA notes, citing a
2011 study, that wind turbines of up to 20
MW could be constructed using existing
materials, " such behemoths are not yet
March 2017 | POWER
economic, " it says. " [It] will probably not
be long before we'll see 10, 12 and 15 MW
machines-and if there are fundamental
limits, they're not yet clear. As materials
science continues to advance, who knows
how large offshore machines will be in 20
years' time? " it says.
For now, the largest offshore wind turbines
hover over the 7-MW to 8-MW range.
However, MHI Vestas-a joint venture
between Vestas Wind Systems and Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries-on January 26
unveiled an uprated version of its 8-MW
medium-speed geared commercial turbine.
The company said the prototype installed
at Østerild produced 216,000 kWh over a
24-hour period-a record for a commercially
available offshore wind turbine-on
December 1. Like the original model, the
V164 prototype weighs about 35 metric
tons and has 80-m-long blades, but it is
about 35 m taller with a hub height of
140 m, and it can reach a rated power of 9
MW depending on specific site conditions.
MHI Vestas began commercial operation
of the first V164-8.0-MW machine in September
2016 at the 258-MW Burbo Bank
Extension, a wind farm owned by DONG
Energy, PKA, and KIRKBI A/S, 7 kilometers
off the coast of Liverpool in the UK
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(Figure 5). MHI Vestas also noted that it
has a " firm order book " of more than 1.6
GW for the turbine model.
Other notable prototypes include Gamesa
and AREVA's jointly developed 8-MW
Adwen AD-180, which is undergoing testing
in Bremerhaven, Germany. Meanwhile,
Enercon's E-126 model, a 7.5-MW onshore
model, has been installed at the Noordoostpolder
site in the Netherlands.
HECO Tests Virtual Power
Plant in Hawaii
The Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) and
technology service company Stem Inc.
have successfully tested nearly 1 MW of
energy storage systems at 29 commercial
sites on Oahu, the companies said on
January 30.
The novel pilot project, which sought
" the ability to connect many customers'
energy storage with the utility, " comprises
an energy storage " fleet " of different
sizes that is installed at small businesses
and local institutions, along with Stem's
predictive, cloud-based PowerScope software
to help the businesses predict when
their electric use will peak (Figure 6).
Stem synchronizes the PowerScope infor13
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POWER March 2017

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