GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X prototype, the world’s most powerful wind turbine operating to date, has been optimized and is now operating at a 13 MW power output.

This prototype will undergo a series of tests during the following months to carry out various types of measurements and receive its type certificate in the coming months.

Recently, the Haliade-X 13 MW, an improved version of the prototype that has been operating successfully in Rotterdam since November 2019, obtained its provisional type certificate and set a new world record by producing 288 MWh in a single day.

This improved 13 MW version of Haliade-X will continue to feature 107-meter long blades and a 220-meter rotor and will be able to produce 4 percent more annual energy production (AEP) than the prototype ‘s previous 12 MW version.

“With three years in the making, the Haliade-X platform has proven to be a successful story. Combined with almost 5 GW of customer commitments and an international testing and R&D program, the 13 MW uprated version is a true testament of how we continue to innovate and develop our Haliade-X technology to address our customers’ needs.”

Vincent Schellings, chief technology officer for offshore wind at GE Renewable Energy.

In the first two phases of the UK’s Dogger Bank wind farm, the Haliade-X 13 MW offshore wind turbine will be used, with a total of 190 units to be deployed beginning in 2023. This will mark the first installation to date of the most efficient wind turbine in operation in the world at what will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

The Haliade-X technology was also chosen for the 120 MW Skipjack and 1,100 MW Ocean Wind projects in the US as the preferred wind turbine.

Launched in 2018, the Haliade-X offshore wind platform from GE helps bring down the levelized energy cost (LCOE) of offshore wind and makes offshore wind energy a more competitive source of renewable energy. Serial production of the Haliade-X platform will kick off at GE’s Saint-Nazaire factory in France in the second half of 2021.

In January 2020, the Rotterdam-based prototype set a new world record by generating 288 MWh of continuous power in one day. It was also recognised by Wind Power Monthly magazine as the Best Sustainable Invention of the Year by TIME magazine (December 2019) and Best Wind Turbine of the Year (January 2020).