Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, CSIC (Chongqing) Haizhuang Windpower Equipment Co, has installed the first prototype of its new 5MW offshore design at Longyuan’s intertidal demonstration project in Rudong, Jiangsu province.
The prototype rolled off the production line at CSIC’s assembly facility in Chongqing on 27 July and was installed on 13 October.
The company spent three years developing the 5MW direct drive permanent magnetic offshore turbine. It has a 154m rotor diameter, "lightest nacelle weight, and highest power generation capacity" among wind turbines of the same type, says the company.
As part of the development process, CSIC collaborated with several European companies, including Dutch firm Mecal, Denmark’s KK Electronic, and Germany’s Lehnhoffconsulting.
China’s turbine manufacturers are focusing their efforts on larger machines, in the hope of winning orders from both domestic and European offshore wind developers. The country has a target to achieve 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2015 and 30GW by 2020.
About 20 Chinese manufacturers have said they will build large capacity turbines. By 2020, China’s offshore wind turbine market is forecast to be worth $US17bn, according to Li Junfeng, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission’s energy research institute.
Thus far, Sinovel, Guodian United Power, Dongfang Electric and XEMC have produced 5MW or 6MW designs.
