Ørsted to deploy giant 12 MW turbines on two U.S. offshore wind farms

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Image: GE

Ørsted has selected GE Renewable Energy as the preferred turbine supplier for two of its U.S. offshore wind farms — marking the world’s first commercial deployment of GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine.

The Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbine has a rotor diameter of 220 meters. Each blade on the Haliade-X 12MW is 107 meters (351 feet) long sweeping a total area of 38,000 square meters (409,000 square feet).

The size of these turbines raises interesting questions for the offshore services industry on what size vessel will be needed to transport the blades to their locations and to install them.

Subject to final agreed and signed contract and all required project approvals, Ørsted will deploy Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbines on the two offshore wind farms constituting Ørsted’s Mid-Atlantic cluster:

  • Skipjack (120 MW) off the coast of Maryland. Expected commissioning: 2022.
  • Ocean Wind (1,100 MW) off the coast of New Jersey. Expected commissioning: 2024.

In the U.S. alone, seven states on the east coast have committed to building a total of 20 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035, emphasising the need for a broad and diverse supplier base.

“We look forward to introducing the next generation offshore wind turbine to the market,” says Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore. “For decades, Ørsted has pioneered the introduction of new technology and new suppliers which has been fundamental to drive down the cost of electricity, and today offshore wind is a competitive source of homegrown clean energy that can help countries and states achieve their climate targets while creating long-lasting economic activity. We are delighted to see GE’s long-term commitment to offshore wind and to partner with them on our Mid-Atlantic cluster.”

Following the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm – America’s first offshore wind farm which was commissioned in 2016 and pioneered the 6 MW Haliade turbine – Skipjack and Ocean Wind will be Ørsted’s second and third offshore wind farms to deploy turbines from GE Renewable Energy. In the U.S., Ørsted has been awarded the rights to build offshore wind farms to serve the markets of Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut. These wind farms will have a total capacity of approx 2.9 GW and will be commissioned by 2024.

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