In April, Enercon used the Hannover industrial fair to present two versions of a new 3MW class liquid-cooled direct-drive wind turbine. The first version is the E-101/3MW (rotor diameter 101m) that focuses at common IEC IIA sites while the second is an E-82/3MW suited for IEC IA wind conditions (> 8.5 m/s at hub height).
Commenting on the second version Enercon sales director Stefan Lütkemeyer said: "The E-82/3MW is an enhanced version of our E-82/2MW. We are receiving requests for this new model not only from strong-wind-regions all over the world, but also from different parts of Germany. The latter is due to a doubling in rated power compared to the first generation 1.5 MW wind turbines, making the product attractive for repowering projects."
The E-82/2MW volume model - now upgraded to 2.3MW - comprises an air-cooled generator of about 5.5m in diameter.
The new liquid-cooled generator offers superior cooling performance capabilities but retains an unchanged diameter enabling the use of similar transport logistical standards and series manufacturing process standardizing.
Air-cooling has been standard Enercon generator technology since 1992, and is applied and continuously optimized in all other turbine models from 30kW - 7.5MW (upgraded E-126). However, liquid-cooled generators are not new for Enercon either.
The company has years of operational experience with over a hundred first-generation liquid-cooled E-82/3MW turbines concentrated largely in two major wind farms in both Canada and the Netherlands. But a clear difference from the first generation model is that the prominently visible cooling radiator has now been moved from an external position on top of the nacelle to an internally integrated position.
E-82/3MW series production start is planned for the end of 2010. An E-101/3MW prototype is envisaged for late summer with series production start in 2011. This turbine model will be offered with prefab concrete towers of 99m and 138-metre hub height.
