GE's onshore wind business CEO Pete McCabe said the company's new 4.8-158 onshore wind turbine an important next step in turbine technology and efficiency.

 

"It is well suited for low to medium wind speed regions around the world - examples include Germany, Turkey and Australia - as well as for mechanisms like auctions, as countries around the world are putting an increased emphasis on lowering the cost of energy," McCabe said.

 

GE's most powerful onshore turbine is purpose-built to leverage the intelligence gathered from across the company's fleet of more than 30,000 wind turbines, data from which powers the 4.8-158 with its next-generation control system. 

 

The firm says its clients can realise business outcomes, including lifecycle extension of the customers' windfarms and improvement of farm economics by utilising GE's Predix core applications including asset performance management, cybersecurity and business optimization solutions.

 

The new 4.8 megawatt wind turbine, GE's first onshore entry in the 4MW space, is equipped with a 158m rotor and a range of tip heights up to 240m. 

 

The combination of a larger rotor and tall towers enables the turbine to take advantage of higher wind speeds and produce more energy. 

 

GE's latest turbine features high tech blades, improved loads and controls, and taller, more cost-effective towers - innovation which was developed via close partnerships with LM Wind Power, Blade Dynamics and GE's Global Research Centre. 

 

The 77m-long carbon blades leverage the strong track record and material innovations of LM Wind Power, and are their longest onshore blades to date. 

 

The rotor can be adapted to a variety of conditions with customised carbon blades, depending on specific customer and site requirements, which GE says is unrivalled flexibility which allows it to offer a high efficiency product offering while continuing to drive down LCOE. 

 

The blades also feature one of the industry's smallest Bolt Circle Diameters, keeping manufacturing and logistical costs to a minimum.

 

"This turbine is a great example of what we can achieve through the GE Store, combining technology and development with innovative design and expertise from the Global Research Center, LM Wind Power and Blade Dynamics," McCabe said. 

 

"We collected input from more than 30 customers around the world to ensure we are meeting their specific turbine needs with this product as they work to provide lower-cost renewable energy."